Learning Paleontology from a Biblical Perspective

I often ask young people, “If there really was a worldwide Flood, what would the evidence be? Billions of dead things buried in rock layers, laid down by water, all over the earth. And what do we find? Billions of dead things, buried in rock layers, laid down by water, all over the earth!”1 Fossils confirm the biblical account of a global Flood, not slow and gradual processes over millions of years.

Since the focus of the Ark Encounter theme park is on the Flood, we wanted a fun, interactive way to teach people the biblical perspective on fossils. Camp Infinity, a biblical creation STEM camp, sponsored a sluice (called Fossil Find) at the Ark so we could do just that. Dan Wooster, the director of Camp Infinity and a board member here at Answers in Genesis, wrote this about Camp Infinity, the sluice, and why they chose to sponsor it:

Camp Infinity provides a unique combination of hands-on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) activities to inspire the mind, along with a biblical worldview to give our campers solid biblical answers to the skeptical questions they’re faced with in our secular culture. One of the challenges any young person going into science faces today is the issue of the age of the earth. Young people need to think biblically and be equipped with answers about the age of the earth.

One of the ways we help equip our students to defend their faith, particularly as they are exposed to the secular, naturalistic ideas in science, is by taking them to secular museums where they hear and see the evolutionary story along with its claim that most fossils are millions of years old. Recently we were given another excellent opportunity to equip not only our campers but also the hundreds of thousands of young people and adults who come to visit the new Ark Encounter in Northern Kentucky.

We are the proud sponsors of a unique exhibit at the Ark Encounter called the Fossil Find. It is a sluice in which each participant purchases a bag of dirt containing dozens of fossils such as shark teeth, petrified wood, clams, snails, and more. Using a screen and water source, the participants find the fossils as the dirt washes away leaving behind the fossils. In addition participants are each given an easy-to-follow fossil chart to help identify their new treasures. This chart also explains where fossils come from in a biblical perspective. Young people and adults see firsthand that fossils do not come with labels telling us how old they are. Fossils have to be interpreted, and your interpretation depends on your starting point—God’s Word or man’s word.

We are excited that folks coming to the Ark will be exposed to both a biblical view of fossils and what we believe is the only camp of its kind in the world, Camp Infinity, where science and technology meet truth.

Dan Wooster; his assistant, Emily Barney; and one of the Camp Infinity counselors, Brooke Nelson, recently headed out to the Ark to try out the Fossil Find. Here are some pictures of the sluice and what they found.

Camp Infinity counselor, Brooke Nelson, with the Fossil Find.

Emily Barney, assistant to the camp director, with the Fossil Find and the Ark in the background.

Emily Barney sluicing for fossils.

The many fossils they discovered.

We’re thrilled to partner with Camp Infinity at the Ark. It’s vital that we raise up a generation of young people who stand boldly on God’s Word and study His creation for His glory, using His Word as their starting point. Learn more about this unique camp at CampInfinity.com.

Plan your visit to our full-size Ark at ArkEncounter.com.

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,
Ken

This item was written with the assistance of AiG’s research team.