This is exactly what caused me to voice concern in
the first place. Science is quite clear, there is no scientific evidence of any
kind for creationism, and immense amounts for evolution. This isn't a matter for
showing different sides and letting people make up their mind, it's that as
science one is demonstrably wrong, so has absolutely no educational
value. Evolution is on the national curriculum and somewhere that presents
itself as providing science education yet then tells people evolution is not
scientifically valid cannot be said to be providing a 'good quality educational
experience' which the LOtC badge claims to certify. Noah's Ark's on site
interpretation, I am told, includes things like a scale model of the ark itself, that shows how giraffes
were housed next to T. Rex (presumably as they're both rather tall), and
the interpretation board in the monkey house that lists the top ten reasons that
monkeys are different to humans (and so cannot possibly be related). with number
10 being "Humans have the unique ability to worship God" and their website
contains furious ad hominem attacks on Darwin and other scientists and
generally denies evolution has any validity whatsoever . Presented as
a religious experience, no problem, claiming to provide science education, big
problem.
As our centre
is LOtC badged, I know that teachers, whatever the LOtC's intentions, view this
as at least in part an indication that what they will get is of high educational
standards, as well as meeting practical safety etc standards and while I
wouldn't want them to necessarily get into the business of vetting the
quality of what is taught, I would like to think that to be considered
worthy of being certified as a quality place for learning outside the classroom,
an organisation should at least not contradict the national curriculum in what
it communicates.
IAN SIMMONS
I can't understand why people are frightened of new
ideas. I'm frightened of the old ones - John Cage
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Wednesday, July 28, 2010 3:40
PM
Subject: Re: Council for Learning Outside
the Classroom approves Creationist Attraction
OK if it is presented as a
question of faith. The problem arises when it is presented as a matter of
science, which calls into question whether it is good science and good
education which is exactly what LOTC is designed to vet
Lalage
Lalage Grundy
Surrey Heritage Team
Manager for Learning, Museums and Partnership
130 Goldsworth Road, Woking,
GU21 6ND
Tel 01483 518782
I agree Robin, it's not what LOTC is there to do, and anyway sounds
like
they're not claiming there's is the absolute truth.
Diane
Diane Taylor
Audience Development
Officer
Harrogate Museums & Arts
Mercer Art Gallery,
Swan Road,
Harrogate
HG1 2SA
Tel: 01423 556188
Fax: 01423
556130
www.harrogate.gov.uk/museums
Exhibitions at Harrogate Museums
& Arts
Royal Pump Room Museum
"Egyptology: Science Investigation" -
discover some of our Ancient
Egyptian treasures. See how science is
helping us learn more about our
Ancient Egyptian objects.
"Well
Travelled" - Journey to many parts of the world in our exhibition
of
objects from far-flung places.Until 5 September.
Mercer Art
Gallery
'The Secret Garden' - works from Harrogate's fine art collection in
an
exhibition inspired by the classic children's novel. Until 6
June.
'Treasures of the Mercer' - Favourites from the fine art
collection.
Until 25 July.
Knaresborough Castle.
Visit the
King's Tower, dark dungeon and secret underground tunnel,
Find out about
Knaresborough's past and colourful characters. Open from
Good Friday
2010 daily.
Please ring or visit our website for further details of our
varied
children's & adults activities
programme.
>>> Robin Clutterbuck
<[log in to unmask]> 27/07/2010
16:36
>>>
I disagree with Richard and Ian's response. Why is it OK
to visit a
place
of worship where belief and faith are part of the deal,
but not OK to
go to
a zoo where some of the staff have beliefs of their
own? The
techniques
used by good education services at religious
sites aim to elicit
feelings of
personal reflection in a setting
designed for people to think about
these
things - so why not in a zoo
where you're right in front of the
'evidence'
and the debate can be even
closer to the reality?
I looked at the Noah's Ark Farm Park's website
and they explicitly say
that
evolution and creation are areas open to
debate, and that while they
have
their own views, it's up to the
individual to come to their own
conclusions:
'In our view the evidence
currently known points to a ‘both/and’
situation
(creation and
evolution) rather than ‘either/or’' ... we encourage
interested readers to
explore the issues for themselves'. Ian's Life
Centre
runs a KS4
workshop in which students 'use dialogue activities to
explore
Darwin’s
theory and the historical ideas behind it and decide for
themselves
how
modern day criticisms of evolution should be answered' - not
that
different?
Noah's Ark Farm Park lists a range of educational
workshops and
activities
based around National Curriculum in Science and
there's no suggestion
that
these workshops actually morph into something
else when the schools
arrive.
It appears that the Farm Park was chosen
as one of the 10% of
self-assessed
sites to receive an inspection, and
presumably this found that the
service
was as described in its
publicity, otherwise that would in itself be a
reason to lose the quality
badge status.
However the main point, as expressed in the CLOtC's
reply, is that the
Quality Badge is about processes, not content. The
Farm obviously
reached
the standard required and was awarded the badge.
It's not up to the
CLOtC
to discriminate between different
applicants on anything other than
quality
of provision.
For these
reasons, while on a personal level I refute Creationism, I
can't
see a
reason why Noah's Ark Farm Park should lose its badge.
Robin
Clutterbuck
White Rook Projects
www.whiterook.co.uk
-----Original Message-----
From: List for discussion of
issues in museum education in the UK.
[mailto:[log in to unmask]]On Behalf
Of Richard Ellam
Sent: 27 July 2010 14:17
To:
[log in to unmask]
Subject: Council for Learning Outside the
Classroom approves
Creationist
Attraction
Dear
All
List members considering whether to seek the Learning
Outside the
Classroom Quality Badge may be interested in, and
conc
erned about,
the
CLOtC's decision to award their Quality Badge
to the Noah's Ark Farm
Park at
Wraxall, near
Bristol.
The Noah's Ark Farm is an explicitly and agressively
Creationist
folly,
which seeks to mislead children by teaching them the
literal truth of
the
biblical account of creation and explicitly denies
that evolution can
explain the diversity of life on
Earth.
Quite apart from any wider concerns about the validity
of these
opinions,
the teaching of Creationism is contrary to the
requirements of the
National
Curriculum.
A number of
people involved in science communication and informal
science
education
including my colleague Ian Simmons from the Centre for Life
in
Newcastle
are very concerned about the fact that CLOtC has accredited
Noah's
Ark
in the first place, and (as the correspondence below shows)
doesn't
seem
to understand that it might have made a mistake in the
second.
If you share our concerns, can I ask you to join with
us in writing
to the
CLOtC to express your concern.
The
CLOtC can be contacted via [log in to unmask]
Thanks
Richard.
Richard
Ellam
L M Interactive
Science Shows and Hands-On
Stuff
[log in to unmask]
Begin forwarded
message:
From: Ian Simmons
<[log in to unmask]>
Date: 27 July 2010 11:49:45
BDT
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject:
[PSCI-COM] Council for Learning Outside the Classroom
Reply-To: "psci-com: on public engagement with
science"
<[log in to unmask]>
Centre for
Life is accredited by the Council for Learning Outside
the
Classroom
with their Learning Outside the Classroom Quality Badge, but
I
was
worried to find out this week that they’d also given this status
to
the Noah
’s Ark Zoo – a creationist outfit near Bristol, so I wrote
to them
expressing my concerns that we are put on a par with such a
dubious
body,
and got this reply
“Dear Mr Simmon,
s
Many thanks for your email concerning the recent award
of the
Learning
Outside the Classroom Quality Badge to Noah's Ark Zoo
Farm.
The criteria for awarding the LOtC Quality Badge are
that the
organisation must offer good quality learning outside the
classroom
and
manage risk effectively. The Council for Learning Outside
the Classroom
is
very committed to equality and we will award the
Quality Badge to an
organisation that can demonstrate that it meets these
criteria; past
awards
have included Interfaith Kirklees and Canterbury
Cathedral without any
implied endorsement of their religious
base.
CLOtC believes that an important aim of learning
outside the
classroom
is allowing children and young people access to
education that
challenges
assumptions and allows them to experience a
range of viewpoints; giving
them
the tools needed to be proactive in
their own learning.
CLOtC is an independent charity and I
would like to stress that
the
operation of the LOtC Quality Badge scheme
receives no government
funding.
Kind Regards
Amy”
Which concerns me even more, such that I am
considering asking to
be
delisted, as I think giving them a stamp of
providing ‘good quality
education’ devalues us by association, if any of
your organizations
are LOtC
registered and share my concern I would urge
you to make it known to
them –
their website is
http://www.lotc.org.uk/The-LOTC-quality-badge/The-LOTC-quality-badge
IAN
Ian Simmons
Science Communication Director
Centre for Life
Management Suite
Times Square
Newcastle
upon Tyne
NE1 4EP
Tel: +44191
2438250
Fax: +44191 2438201
Email:
[log in to unmask]
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