We have been studying the Bible story of Creation for our Bible class, both from the Bible and from the book Patriarchs and Prophets. So I thought that it would be fun to visit a Creation Museum to confirm some of what we were studying. When my children were very little, my husband and I visited a Creation museum that is located at the base of Mount Saint Helens called the 7 Wonders Creation Museum. We called some of our homeschool friends and arranged a fun trip to the museum and the volcano. (I was the sole adult with eight kids! Call me brave! Not really, they are all really great kids and one of them was a very responsible 16 year old, so I had good help.)
At the 7 Wonders Museum, we were privileged with a lecture/PowerPoint show on different aspects of Mt. St. Helens that defy evolution. Because most of our group was kids, he limited it to three wonders, but in his normal presentation, he presents seven wonders–hence the name of the museum.
After that, the tour guide from the museum took us on a tour up to the volcano. First we stopped by the A-Frame that has been buried in mud. This A-frame was partially buried by the river of mud that came flowing through the valley about eight hours after the big eruption. You now, stand on the ground and look down on to the deck of the A-frame. It is quite a testament to how quickly the landscape can be changed. Here is a picture that one of the kids took.
Then we went to the top of a dam that was built for the sole purpose of holding back mud, in an effort to save some of the cities that are downstream from the volcano. This provided another evidence that changes can happen rapidly, but also continue after catastrophes. Still, major changes that happen in a matter of months are pretty rapid as compared to millions of years.
Here are a couple pictures of the dam.
Then we drove up to the Johnston Ridge Observatory that looks straight into the volcano. It is quite amazing to look face to face at a volcano. At the observatory, we attended a Ranger talk, watched the movie and all the kids worked on and earned their Junior Ranger Badges. We had one young lady with us, who spoke primarily Japanese, and we were happy to find out that we could sign up for a translator for her, so she could listen to translations of all the signs in the exhibit. They have the translators for several languages. The rest of us were a little jealous, because the little device that she used was kind of fun to play with.
If you ever have a chance to visit Mt. St. Helens and the observatory, do not miss out on the movie. I wouldn’t want to spoil the surprise that comes in the movie, but it is amazing. I also highly recommend the museum, but only if you call ahead. The museum is run by a man and his wife and if you call ahead, they will schedule to give their “Seven Wonders” lecture, otherwise, it is small and you won’t get near as much out of it.
I met a man on the airplane a few days before we were planning to go to Mount Saint Helens who got into a discussion with me about Young Earth Creationism. He was a Christian, but just believed that the facts of science were too compelling to accept the Biblical rendition of Creation. I sure wished that I could have taken him with me to St. Helens. He might have got a new perspective. I did my best to help him have a new perspective, but I’m not sure how much headway, I made. Now I have a little more in my arsenal for the next time I have such a discussion.
