Creation and Earth History Museum

Took a kid that I nanny here because he loves dinosaurs. Didn’t realize that is was a creationism museum until we got there. Luckily the kid can’t read yet otherwise I would have had to answer a lot of questions regarding the ridiculous claims and «facts» written throughout the place. Since he can’t read he did actually love going because the do have some big dinosaur statues and other cool things to look at. They also have the nicest bathroom I have ever seen in a public setting. The gift shop had some nice toys for kids that were surprisingly not covered in scripture like the rest of the museum.

Not nearly as much fun as I thought it was going to be. In fact, it’s actually quite creepy and sad. They have a lot of cool stuff like life-​size dinosaurs, crystals, and fossils, but the coolness of it is negated by the ludicrous pseudo-​science, unattributed quotes, and the mind-​blowingly illogical conclusions they draw. Much of the rhetoric about the imaginary «war» between science and religion is biased and offensive. The underlying theme is that the Bible is intended to be literal and at odds with «Darwinism», which is portrayed as a cult that led to the holocaust. Their hypotheses about the ark are kind of amusing, as is the family tree that «proves» Jesus was descended from King David on Joseph’s side. Save your money and go to a real museum where you will learn that science doesn’t have an agenda to prove any preconceived ideology and isn’t at war with mythology. Thankfully, there is a brewery just down the street from this place, and it’s rather good.

Love the $ 2 off savings from Unilocal!
We came here all the way from Nor-​Cal just to visit this place. It wasn’t too bad. I guess my expectations were a little higher, having visited the Smithsonians in the East Coast. But for a small scale museum, it isn’t too bad.
The first thing I noticed when we walked in was how much TEXT was on the walls. I know they’re trying to make the place Biblical with all the verses, but are they seriously expecting people to read all those verses? Way too many words.
The live animal exhibits were interesting.
A lot of the exhibits look like they’d be really fun for kids to touch and play. They also had paper handouts around the museum that you could take with you. I took a cool one about «The Chinese Language and the Creative Hands of God.» (see pic)
They also had videos playing around the museum. The first one we watched was about Mt. St. Helens and it was really boring. I could only watch about 2 minutes before I got up and walked away. The narrator just talked too slow and couldn’t capture my interest. The one I liked was something about Hitler, evolution or abortion. That was pretty interesting.
Some of the exhibits looked pretty dated but others were quite interesting. Definitely a good attempt to cover the different areas of creation, the human body, etc. There was also a wall of evolutionists and creationists that was interesting to read.
There’s some «Scantibodies» building nearby that we also saw an exhibit for. I guess you can donate plasma and get paid for it. Not sure how that links to the Creation Museum but something to look into.
Not the most impressive or innovative museum but 4-​stars for the efforts.
Oh, they also have really nice bathrooms!

If you aren’t interested in visiting with friends for a hilarious walk through the bible using ‘science’ to back the fairy tales. Or if you don’t find it comical when you see completely made up quotes and ‘facts’ from evolutionists, then, really… skip it.
If you want a real museum experience in the San Diego area, check out any one of the numerous museums in Balboa Park. Or, The Children’s Museum in downtown San Diego, is a fun and adventurous place yup bring you’re kids without brainwashing or confusing them.
The Creation Museum is definitely not a good place to bring the kids, it is inappropriate for children (actually, it’s inappropriate for anyone who might not, actually, realize that it’s all made up).
If you have money laying around and are in need of a good laugh, however, the museum is actually a great place to visit. Please, don’t forget your camera, you’ll want to remember your hilarious excursion for years to come!

I thought this place use to be free? I remember going a few times and not paying any thing but we always would buy books. We went last night as a family of four and they charge us $ 7.00 a person to get in. We didn’t come prepared to pay so unfortunately we had to leave. My husband left his wallet in the car so that why we stop by it was something our two kids like and it was free. What happened when did you start charging? Oh well maybe if we’re out and about and we have the money were stop in.

Always a great time to learn and grow in the faith here. I recommend coming here and actively learning. What a blessing it is to have a place to learn about Creation and science, and how both correlate.

***REMEMBER to check-​in for $ 2 OFF adult admission!***
Aside from the religious arguments and illogical statements, this museum made for a cool weekend visit. If you couldn’t tell already, this museum is Bible-​based and attempts to link science and religion through the exhibits. Many, if not all, of the arguments were nonsensical (and written poorly and wordily) — BUT I’m not here to review their views. It was interesting to look and learn about the Creationist views.
Anyway… the museum layout was like a walk-​through timeline of the days of creation + the human body exhibit/​rooms. I really came here because I heard the dinosaur sculptures were awesome… and they were!!! There were also a good number of fossils to check out too. As people have said, the museum features some very wordy plaques. So wordy that there’s plenty of seating available in front of these exhibit plaques so you can take in the wordiness. I tried my best to read most of the signs I saw… but it proved impossible. First off, I didn’t understand where they were going with anything — but really it was just too much to read when I’m there to mostly look.
I noticed that the exhibits were done really well. There were a bunch of awesome hand-​painted murals throughout the museum. The art nerd in me made me touch and look closely at all the murals I came across. Even some of the materials in the exhibits were hand-​painted, which I found impressive (e.g. the huge human ear diagram, I posted a photo). Rooms were themed really well — the room with all the (real) animals came with fake leaves, plants and a beautiful mural of Adam & Eve hanging out in a jungle setting. I can’t get over how well done everything was! That probably means a lot of $$$…
The human body exhibit seemed kind of random, especially as it was off to the side. Those rooms were quite informative but seemed to lack the luster of the rest of the museum. This exhibit seemed unfinished and quite empty. Also — in the first room — there is a decal on the wall of the endoplasmic reticulum, however, it is labeled as the Gogli apparatus!!! They got it right in the other parts of the museum — so decal guy screwed up here.
There were quite a few infuriating things in this museum (see Consequences of Evolutionary Thinking photo) but I’ll really just have to put that aside for this genuine review. Also another side note, I didn’t run into any staff besides the one at front desk throughout the whole museum!
Another issue I came across was the animal exhibit (s). I think people have mentioned this before but the bird exhibit seemed… cramped and not well-​ventilated. Also, the bearded dragon in the gift shop seems to need a way bigger cage. There was also no water bowl but I’m hoping they mist or bathe it everyday. :(
Overall, I think I would actually visit again. I super liked all the dinosaurs and the sculptures out in the garden/​entrance and the reading proved to be quite interesting. This place is great for kids too — lots of interactive things for them to watch and touch.

First off, I had no idea this was over here! Who knew?!
Came to this museum to view a rough cut/​presentation on the new Genesis 3D movie making it’s way to theaters next Fall. Really looking forward to seeing this!
Decided to browse the museum afterwards and I really must return because it was all kinds of awesome for kids and adults alike. It proves racist, Darwin and his theory of evolution wrong (thankfully), but it linked and not divided religion and science which I found, very cool! After all, God is the maker of all (science included). It’s perversion and exaltation of all of his creations over Him that is the issue and becomes idol worship. That could be anything.
Anyway, I found this really refreshing and got to share it with my scientist friends.
It’s bible-​based, and walk through (tunnel style) the beginning of Genesis leading to the fall of man into sin. I really like the dinosaur section, looking at all of the butterfly species, rock section, umm… I liked the museum.
I found that the volunteers and museum staff I spoke to were very knowledgable and available for questions. One happened to be a former atheist who shared his testimony of actually coming to Christ by way of his atheist professor who couldn’t give a solid basis for their non-​belief. He was desiring a way to stay stuck in philosophy and only found a way to God! God is hilarious.
The museum has stools that you can sit in front of each exhibit to actually enjoy and read what’s there. It was pretty packed the day that I went due to a big festival going on simultaneously, but I definitely would like to come back with a group and soak it all in without making haste.

I was quite honestly thoroughly entertained by this place. You just have to know what you want out of a museum. If you’re here to be educated, then you should probably go to Balboa park instead. If you could use a good chuckle and entertain the idea of an exhibit with a dinosaur in a cage on Noah’s Ark, then this museum is for you. There were very few areas where I didn’t literally laugh out loud at what was being said or suggested. My toddler was thrilled with all the dinosaur models, which is really what mattered the most to me anyways. To be fair though, there are parts of this museum that are actually educational. You just have to sort it from all the pseudo-​science and religious dogma. Either way you’ll have fun here.

A bit confusing. I didn’t understand why some of the exhibits were there. But it was informative and bigger than I thought. It was very hands on so my daughter was able to enjoy herself. The staff was very nice.

This museum was one of the most interesting and profound places I’ve been to. You must check it out with your family.

I’ll start with the good: The fabricated exhibit items were excellent quality, very detailed, and well lit.
BUT… you’ll need to check your brain, education, and common sense at the door. The premise here is that The Flintstones was a documentary, not a cartoon.
The walls are lined with plaques that contain complete fabrications and mis-​statements about science, biology, physics, and astronomy, all of which come to the conclusion «God must have done it». Don’t bother looking for references to back up the absurd scientific claims, there aren’t any. Any attempts to follow the logic of the claims on the walls is an exercise in frustration, as great liberties are taken with even basic use of the English language when it comes to «proven», «evidence», «theory» and «conclusion».
Another group had a guide, who explained that «Only Earth has gravity, God did that for humans» and «God placed the sun the exact distance from the Earth to work best for humans». No attempt was made to explain why the Mars Landers aren’t just floating away, or where the tides came from, and questions were not welcome.
Oh, and they DO answer the burning question of «how did all of those dinosaurs fit in the Ark». it says they were actually only 3 feet high and fit into a small cage. They even have a replica of that cage to drive that point home.
The «Free Admission» sign that you can see via Google Maps Street View has been covered up, and it’s now $ 7 to get a load of anti-​logic.

A bit out of the way. Much larger than I thought. I saw quite a few problems:
— logic was nonsensical at times
— some arguments were presented in a very disjointed manner, to the point where I couldn’t follow it, and I was really trying.
— heavy reliance on scripture, which is not surprising, but there was no mention of these being written by unsophisticated humans 2000 years ago
— there were entire sections of the museum that seemed to simply be museums of natural history w no mention of creationism
Having said all that, I still recommend you see it. It made some good points, mostly about the gaping holes in evolutionary theory. It reminded me that what I learned and believe is not 100% substantiated and that i should keep an open mind to alternative explanations.

The Creation and Earth History Museum is exactly what it sounds like. Through its many exhibits, it supports the perspective that the universe was created, with Biblical references and scientific facts, references, and theories. While some reviewers criticise the museum because God and Creationism are within its framework, the same reviewers likely decide to conveniently overlook the lack of scientific facts in traditional evolutionary minded museums. They assume that evolution is a given and ignore the facts that living creatures and ecological systems could not exist, or in any way be sustainable, in a partially constructed and haphazardly chaotic state.
This creation museum is not short on the facts and what I like is that where a theory is presented as a possibility, it is stated as such, as a theory and not as a fact. I wish many on the evolutionary perspective would do the same. Evolutionary Theory would have us believe that all matter and energy of the universe started from a central point and exploded outward. Given that even light cannot escape and expand from one single black hole, there is no way that all matter and energy in the entire universe escaped from one central point. It is a physical and scientifically impossible feat. The Second Law of thermodynamics says everything left to itself deteriorates; it does not progressively evolve/​improve.
The Creation and Earth History presents many compelling reasons for intelligent design and that is their purpose for existence. Creation and Evolution are at opposite ends of an ideological spectrum. For those who think creation is way out there intellectually, think for a few moments of the theory that nothing exploded into everything and it all somehow works, talk about being way out there from an opposite perspective.

I agree with what Erna’s review stated. Even though you may disagree with the ideas and teachings presented at this museum, educated people will review this building based on the merits of its content, not the theories behind it. Let’s be honest, you know you’re not going to see displays of ape people evolving in a cave at a place called The Creation History Museum, so these other reviews from people acting all shocked because a museum showed Noah’s Ark just want to complain. I actually thought everything here was well displayed and listed a lot of facts I otherwise never thought about. Some presentations will take a bit more time to read and go through as they are packed with details. There are films about creationism hanging from monitors that can be activated by pushing a button, and I think I made it through everything in about 40 minutes. Overall, the museum does a good job of presenting world history from a Biblical perspective, and even though I may not agree with everything here (Dragons walked the Earth? The only reference I can find to that is in Revelations– which hasn’t happened yet), I did enjoy my visit.

This place get one stars because the staff is friendly and eager to assist visitors. It gets another star for providing all the information one could ever want regarding Creationism.
However, this particular establishment is not a museum and that is why it gets only a 2 star rating for false advertising. Please observe the Oxford Dictionary’s definition:
«A building in which objects of historical, scientific, artistic, or cultural interest are stored and exhibited.»
This place does not house an objective presentation of history or science or culture. This place takes scripture and tries to play it off as such. This place TELLS people, rather than SHOWING people, how things are in a despotic manner.
The arguments presented are flimsy and may be condensed as such: «scientific research might indicate xyz, but God did it and we know this for a fact because faith is a fact, so science is merely an elaborate method of denying Christian God.» Young earth, young universe, etc.
I was raised in a religious environment and had a solid religious education, e.g. biblical study, ethics courses, philosophy, etc. None of arguments pushed forth as «truth» in the «Creation and Earth History Museum» made any sense to me and it was very clear that the constructs and arguments touted by Creationism aren’t applicable outside of the cause. Let me make this VERY clear: I am a person who understands that the Christian Bible is a collection of historical documents that (attempt to) record real events. Ergo, I know that pointing to figurative language in the Book of Job and insisting that it is evidence that Job lived during the Ice Age is desperate and idiotic, to say the least. That might fly as truth in «bible college», but not in any other educational institution on the planet.
Many cultures and religions accept basic scientific principles and theories. Of course, if people want CHOOSE to believe Creationism, that’s fine. They have a right to CHOOSE to reject modern science in favor of wild misinterpretations of the bible.
People who believe in Creationism or who want to study one of the more senseless American sub-​cultures will enjoy this «museum» as it gives a very complete argument in favor of Creationism. There are free hand-​outs on all major topics to avoid any misunderstanding of Creationist belief, which is nice.
Here are things that actually bother me about this place:
1. Sigmund Freud’s photo is STILL hanging inches away from the Hitler/​Nazi Germany exhibit. Do I need to explain why this is troublesome? I hope not.
2. Atheism and Marxism are not religions. Marxism is ANTI-​religion. Also, people who are atheists do not believe in any god (s) and do not congregate for worship like religious groups. Get this right, please. Again, atheists, in their entirety, do not congregate in dark damp corners to plot the downfall of Christianity. Some christians, however, create exhibits with the sole intent of spreading misinformation about other world views.
3. Hitler was an ATHEIST. Ergo, Nazi Germany is not an example of a leader abusing religion. Fred Phelps is an example of someone who used religion to abuse others. Maybe he would be a better example to put on the shame wall, especially now that he’s dead. The Westboro Baptist church could picket this «museum» and give it some publicity. Give it a thought.
4. The finch exhibit does not look safe. The birds don’t have access to natural light. I love birds, so this was very upsetting. Plus, one of them is plucking his feathers out at great detriment to his health and safety. His back is raw and bleeding. PLEASE take him to the vet!!! Clearly this is why the San Diego Museum Council denied membership to this establishment.
5. There is one paragraph in one exhibit that claims Jesus’ sacrifice is meaningless without a literal interpretation of Genesis. I was deeply, mortally offended by this. Faith aside, self sacrifice actually means something. The Easter story, sans literal interpretation or even «faith» itself, is still a touching story.
6. Someone who works here or owns the exhibits CONSISTENTLY replies to «negative» reviews with the suggestion that the reviewer should come back, sometimes insinuating that the person developed a bad impression of Creationism because they misunderstood the exhibits. Here’s the thing: the exhibits have so much text in them that it’s impossible to get the wrong idea. Each tenet of Creationism is over-​explained. There is no way someone could walk in and not understand the finer details of Creationism. If someone walks away from the establishment with a bad impression, it is because, culturally and intellectually, they come from a very different place. Please accept that there are differences in belief, science, and opinion. Please do not respond to my review in that manner.

As a biblical Christian who takes a very literal view of God’s account of creation, and believes firmly in a young earth, I thought this museum was awesome! Sadly many of the negative Unilocal reviews are solely mean spirited atheists making a typical attack on Christianity. The museum had many wonderful exhibits, and tons of valuable information about God’s account of creation. I definitely will be returning to take a more careful look at each exhibit. We did take some young children, and they were more eager to rush through. Adults: you WILL want to go back without the kiddos to soak it all in.

Disclaimer: I noticed that some of the other reviewers give this museum a bad rating not because of the exhibition itself but because they believe creationism is false or crazy. Even though I myself do not believe in creationism and just visited the museum out of curiosity, I think a fair review evaluates this museum ON THE BASIS OF WHAT IT IS TRYING TO DO, namely, explain creationism. I think the museum does a fairly good job at fulfilling this purpose and that’s why I give it a good rating. (Just like I would give a good rating to a circus that is good at being a circus, even if I myself thought circuses are stupid or boring.)
Admission: I do not know what a tour costs. We paid $ 7 each to explore the museum on our own.
How much time you will need: it took us about an hour and 15 minutes to see everything and look at the book store for a bit.
What to expect content-​wise: the main purpose of the museum is to explain to the visitor how creationism thinks the word of the bible and scientific evidence can be reconciled. The museum walks you through a basic overview of how the bible says God created the world, how humans had to leave the Garden of Eden, and the story of Noah’s ark. At each point, there are information plates that tell you how the biblical story can be reconciled with scientific evidence and that attack mainstream scientific interpretations of the evidence in question. After that, the museum transitions into an exhibition on human anatomy. I am not entirely sure how that part fits in with the rest of the museum. There is no obvious connection. At the end of the museum, there is a little wall with pictures of historical figures who advocated creationism and historical figures who believed in evolution and a wall that talks about «consequences of evolutionary thinking».
The style of the museum: the museum is very nice. The first half of the museum is made to look like you are walking through caves, the walls and ceiling looking like rocks. There is a lot of decoration, too. One room, for example, is decorated like a jungle and there are dinosaur sculptures in some of the rooms. The exhibition about human anatomy is less attractive. It just looks like an ordinary museum with normal white walls and some pictures and lots of text to read.
The information plates: I think the information plates are well done. Some museums overwhelm you with detailed information, but these plates have the exact right amount of text on them. For example, next to some pictures of a model of the solar system, you get a plate that will, in five sentences, point out how unique certain aspects of our solar system are and how this hints at intelligent design. Another plate will list 10 or so supposed problems of the theory that the universe started with the big bang, each bullet point consisting of one or two sentences.
For kids: this museum is definitely targeted at families with kids. At many points of the museum, there are buttons that kids can push in order to make something light up in a glass case or so. In addition to the information plates for the adults, there are also smaller plates that are located at child-​eye level. These plates have questions on them, such as «How did all the animals fit on Noah’s ark?» The kid can then lift the plate and the answer is written underneath.
Criticism: here is my biggest problem with the museum. While, for the most part, the museum limits itself to simply explaining the theory of creationism in a neutral manner, it sometimes goes off topic in an unprofessional way. The most annoying part is the information plate in the end that is titled «consequences of evolutionary thinking». On this plate, it is claimed that, among other things, fascism is the direct consequence of evolutionary thinking. WTF. Most people who believe in evolution (many Christians included) will probably find this offensive, and rightly so.
Overall, this was an interesting visit. I found it very informative and it made me better understand why some people believe in creationism and how they believe it is compatible with scientific evidence.

Great exhibit as long as you don’t try to think for yourself what so ever. I even got the grand tour and explanation of all the biblical theories. As creationists play catch up to the scientific discoveries made over the last few hundred years, some of the theories are borderline crazy. Apparently the continents split over night at the speed of a few hundred miles an hour to their present position. Oh, and don’t miss my favorite painting of Noah’s Arc, complete with baby stegosaurus. As long as you ignore all fact and reason, you will have a good time. And just remember, even the Pope thinks creationism is false.

Last time I drove by, I chuckled at the pterodactyl hanging under the sign for a creation museum.
A pterodactyl.
It’d be hilarious if this didn’t make me weep for the future at the same time.