As Creation Museum Opens, Leshner Urges Visitors Not to Confuse Religious Beliefs, Scientific Facts

In a commentary in the Lexington Herald-Leader, AAAS chief executive officer Alan I. Leshner urged Kentuckians to respect the differences between scientific facts and religious beliefs as a new Creation Museum opens in northern Kentucky.

"The Creation Museum, of course, has the constitutional right to interpret the origins of life based on Christian and other doctrine," Leshner wrote in the op-ed published on May 26. But, he added, "It also seems clear that exhibits depicting dinosaurs co-existing with humans could confuse people, particularly children, about scientific facts based on well-documented physical evidence." The most recent dinosaur lived 65 millions years ago—tens of millions of years before the earliest humans, Leshner noted.

"To compete for jobs in the 21st century, all students need and deserve the best possible science education," Leshner wrote. The AAAS upholds the integrity of science education and the importance of teaching evolution, one of the core concepts of modern science.

7 June 2007