Oh, hi kids! I have an incredible message for you.
Hey, can someone take Germa back to the petting zoo?
Wow! That looks like fun.
Now, where was I? Oh, yes.
In 2014, kids 12 and under come free.
Hey! Shouldn't the comets be in the Planetarium?
For the entire year, kids 12 and under come free.
Hey, T-Rex! You better get back to the dinosaur den.
As you can see, it's a very exciting place.
Now tell your parents!
Kids 12 and under free in 2014 when accompanied by a paying adult.
We hope to see you soon!
Good evening. I'm pleased to welcome you to Legacy Hall
of the Creation Museum in Northern Kentucky
in the metropolitan area of Cincinnati.
I'm Tom Foreman from CNN and I'm pleased to be tonight's
moderator for this Evolution versus Creation debate.
This is a very old question! Where did we come from?
My answer is from Washington this morning by airplane.
(laughter from audience)
But there is a much more profound, longer answer
that people have sought after for a long time.
So tonight's question to be debated is the following:
Is Creation a viable model of origins in today's modern, scientific era?
Our welcome extends to hundreds of thousands of people
who are watching on the internet at debatelive.org.
We're glad you have joined us.
Of course, you are auditory and here,
all the folks who've joined us as well.
We're joined by 70 media representatives from many
of the world's great news organizations.
We're glad to have them here as well.
And now let's welcome our debaters: Mr. Bill Nye and Mr. Ken Ham.
(audience applauds)
We had a coin toss earlier to determine
who would go first of these two men.
The only thing missing was Joe Namath in a fur coat.
But it went very well. Mr. Ham won the coin toss
and he opted to speak first. But first, let me tell you
a little bit about both of these gentlemen.
Mr. Nye's website describes him as a scientist,
engineer, comedian, author, and inventor.
Mr Nye, as you may know, produced a number of award-winning TV shows,
including a program he became so well-known for:
Bill Nye the Science Guy.
While working on the Science Guy show, Mr. Nye won
seven national Emmy awards for writing, performing,
and producing the show. Won 18 Emmys in five years!
In between creating the shows, he wrote five kids books about science,
including his latest title, Bill Nye's Great Big Book of Tiny Germs.
Billy Nye is the host of three television series:
his program, "The 100 Greatest Discoveries"--
it airs on the Science Channel. "The Eyes of Nye"--
airs on PBS stations across the country. He frequenly appears
on interview programs to discuss a variety of science topics.
Mr. Nye serves as Executive Director of the Planetary Society,
the world's largest space interest group.
He is a graduate of Cornell, with a Bachelors
of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering.
Mr. Ken Ham is the president and co-founder of Answers of Genesis,
a bible-defending organization that upholds the authority
of the scriptures from the very first verse.
Mr. Ham is the man behind the popular, high-tech
Creation Museum, where we're holding this debate.
The museum has had 2 million visitors in six years
and has attracted much of the world's media.
The Answers in Genesis website, as well, trafficked
with 2 million visitors alone last month. Mr. Ham is also
a best-selling author, a much in-demand speaker,
and the host of a daily radio feature carried on 700 plus stations.
This is his second public debate on Evolution and Creation.
The first was at Harvard, in the 1990s.
Mr. Ham is a native of Australia. He earned
a Bachelors degree in Applied Science, with an emphasis in
Environmental Biology, from the Queensland's Institute of Technology,
as well as a Diploma of Education at the University
of Queensland in Brisbon, Australia.
And now...Mr. Ham, you opted to go first, so you will
be first with your five minute opening statement.
Well, good evening. I know that not everyone watching
this debate will necessarily agree with what I have to say,
but I'm an Aussie and live over here in America
and they tell me I have an accent and so it doesn't matter
what I say, some people tell me. We just like to hear you saying it.
So...um...I hope you enjoy me saying it anyway.
Well, the debate topic is this: Is Creation
a viable model of origins in today's modern scientific era?
You know, when this was first announced on the internet,
there were lots of statements-- like this one
from the Richard Dawkins Foundation.
"Scientists should not debate Creationists. Period."
And this one from one of the Discovery.com websites.
"Should Scientists Debate Creationists?"
You know, right here I believe there's a gross misrepresentation
in our culture. We're seeing people being indoctrinated
to believe that Creationists can't be Scientists.
I believe it's all a part of secularists hi-jacking the word "Science".
I want you to meet a modern-day scientist who's a Biblical Creationist.
My name is Stuart Burgess.
I'm a professor of Engineering Design at Bristol University in the U.K.
I have published over a 130 scientific papers on
the scientific design in Engineering and Biological systems. (stopped 18:29)