Creationism-land

This post also talks about it.

For anyone who hasn't seen the 'rides' at Dino Adventure Land; you should probably take a look at that section of the website, just for kicks.
They're of such cheap quality, I feel bad beating up on them. I truly pity any child who has to trade the experience of DisneyWorld for the ones at Hovind's park.

~DS~

More coverage here -- http://jakking.typepad.com/

Hmm, a few of these people seem to be out of the loop concerning Hovind and his "theme park".

Jack Balkin seems to think that it just opened up, but in fact it's been opperating for at least a few years. This may be the first time it's ever been reported on nationally, but it's been in the local news in Florida on account of Hovind's legal problems.

Brian Leiter seems to think that it's part of a much larger creationist/fundamentalist empire, but Hovind is very much independent from the rest of the creationist movement. In fact, other creationists (not exactly a group known for honesty and integrity) regard Hovind as a snake-oil salesman and warn their flock to stay away from him. He's in a class by himself.

And one thing that's important to note (as DS does) is that you just can't get a sense of how crappy the so-called theme park is from the NYT article. You have to go see the pictures on Hovind's site to realize that it's a bunch of playground equipment tossed together in Hovind's backyard -- not exactly comparable to Disney World. And moreover, the place is a lawsuit waiting to happen. If Hovind actually recognized the authority of the "secular" court system in this country, he would be worried about the possibility of some kid falling and breaking his neck. I particularly like the Pterodactyl Tangle, which is a cargo net that kids are supposed to climb 20 feet off the ground. The Climbing Wall doesn't look too terribly safe either. Unfortunately, the ride known as "Rubberband Shooting" doesn't have a working picture, but from the name alone, I surmise that this is a very inexpensive ride. Let's hope it at least has the added expense of safety glasses.

Finally, Patriotboy has this blogged to, and gives a link to the Southern Poverty Law Center which highlights Hovind's anti-semitism.

The Climbing Wall doesn’t look too terribly safe either.

I think it's just a traverse, which should be relatively safe. Besides, suing God's envoy is NOT cool.

~DS~[http://groups.msn.com/EvolutionvCreation/elcapclimbing.msnw=Climbing]Climbing[/http://groups.msn.com/EvolutionvCreation/elcapclimbing.msnw]

Pardon the meta-blogging, but...

Jack Balkin's post is hardly "fine." It's nothing more than an excerpt from the NYTimes article. Unless it's commendable simply to link to a story. In that case, though, the exact same work was done on this site 2 days ago.

Wow that cargo net 'ride' does look incredibly dangerous. You fall and you almost hope you hit the ground (which presumably is pea gravel or padding) Vs getting a limb entangled on the way down. I don't even want to think about the consequences of getting a foot hung up in flight.

~DS~

Grumpy:

I think you are off in re Balkin. The absence of commentary does not make his post "nothing more than an excerpt from the NYTimes article." To the contrary, the absence of commentary can convey a lot, and I think-knowing Balkin through other posts--that the one you reference is a case in point.

Look at the kids' faces upon seeing the 'theme park'. They're thinking, "Where the fuck is Disneyland? This evangelical place is a pile of crap. Jesus, my parents sure suck."

http://www.dinosauradventureland.com/img/climb1.jpg