Zoo pulls Creation Museum promotion The Cincinnati Zoo and the Creation Museum launched a joint promotional deal last week to draw attention to their holiday attractions. http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20081201/NEWS01/81201045
It worked, but not the way zoo and museum officials had hoped. The zoo pulled out of the deal Monday after receiving dozens of angry calls and e-mails about the partnership, which offered reduced prices to anyone who bought tickets to the zoo’s Festival of Lights and the museum’s Christmas celebration, Bethlehem’s Blessing. Most of the protests echoed the same theme: the Creation Museum promotes a religious point of view that conflicts with the zoo’s scientific mission. Some complained that the zoo, which receives public support through a tax levy, should not become involved with a private museum dedicated to the teachings of the Bible’s Book of Genesis. Others said a scientific institution shouldn’t link itself to a place that argues man once lived side by side with dinosaurs. “They seem like diametrically opposed institutions,” said Dr. James Leach, a Cincinnati radiologist who e-mailed zoo officials about his concerns. “The Cincinnati Zoo is one of this city’s treasures. The Creation Museum is an international laughingstock.” Zoo officials said they considered the promotion – dubbed “Two Great Attractions, One Great Deal” – a marketing deal no different than other cross-promotions they do with institutions like the Newport Aquarium or the Cincinnati Reds. Instead, they found themselves mired in a heated debate between creationists and evolutionists over the origins of mankind. Thanks to the Internet, the opposition needed only a few days to organize a worldwide e-mail campaign and to set up a zoo boycott through blogs and a Facebook page. “It’s not about us endorsing them or them endorsing us,” said Chad Yelton, a zoo spokesman. “That wasn’t the intention of anything we were doing.” The Creation Museum’s founder, Ken Ham, said the Petersburg, Ky., museum and the zoo spent months preparing the cross-promotion package. He said the zoo’s decision to cut ties after two days was disappointing and a missed opportunity to boost regional tourism. Ham said he was “personally saddened” by the negative response. “It’s a pity that intolerant people have pushed for our expulsion simply because of our Christian faith,” Ham said in a statement. “Some of their comments … reveal great intolerance for anything having to do with Christianity.” The museum, which opened in May 2007, has been praised by supporters as a bulwark against evolutionary teachings. It also has been ridiculed by critics who say its displays, including a triceratops with a saddle on its back, are based on pseudo science. The ticket deal first appeared on web sites for both institutions Friday, offering a price of $25.95 for one ticket to both the Festival of Lights and Bethlehem’s Blessing, which features a live nativity and a recreation of the streets of Bethlehem 2,000 years ago. But Yelton said the uproar became such a distraction by Monday morning that zoo officials decided to pull it from the web site. No package deals had been sold, so no refunds will be necessary. “When we partner with the Reds, we don’t get these kinds of e-mails,” Yelton said. “It’s pretty clear this is more of a distraction.” --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. * Read the latest breaking news, and more. -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
