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My husband and I recently visited the Philip J. Currie Museum at Wembley in northwestern Alberta. The rationale for building this beautiful new facility was the Pachyrhinosaurus bonebed at nearby Pipestone Creek. This horned dinosaur is very interesting, known from bonebeds in Alberta and the north slope of Alaska. The museum did not display a model of the highly concentrated bone bed (up to 200 bones per square metre), nor a skeleton of Pachyrhinosaurus, nor a model of the creature (that I saw). They did however display different sizes of one kind of arm bone to illustrate that animals of all ages were overtaken by the same watery catastrophe. Read the rest of this entry »

Two “teams” of plants compete for popularity

One evening after dinner at our Opa and Grandmum’s house, Grandmum told us that we were going to do an experiment called Monocot “Meanies” vs. Dicot “Dreamers”.  We each took two styrofoam bowls and put holes in the bottom, and then put in some soil.  In one bowl, we planted two soaked bean seeds and two dry bean seeds.  In the other bowl, we planted two soaked corn seeds and two dry corn seeds.  Grandmum said, “Some plants are Monocot Meanies and others are Dicot Dreamers.”  She didn’t tell us which was which, but that we would know when they came up. Read the rest of this entry »

Margaret Helder has developed a guide to enhance the learning opportunities and appreciation of the message in her book (which is to encourage everyone to critically evaluate scientific pronouncements). For each chapter there is a brief overview statement. Brief paragraphs follow for each subsection in each chapter with key concepts introduced. There follows for each chapter a list of questions, many of them involving the key concepts. The next section provides detailed answers for each question. A sure to be popular section follows on resources. These are provided under topical headings. Books, articles (all obtainable) and especially video clips on-line, are certain to be useful for any biological studies, not just for this book. Lastly for each chapter, a section on extension is provided.  This booklet of about 60 pages, will be available on line (free download) and in hard copy. Inquire through our website for your copy as soon as it is available.

We have seen it so many times. Eager children dance around their mother as they proceed to pick out books from the public library. The books all look so appealing! Little Johnny is a space fanatic since he has just acquired a new telescope. Ah, here we go, nice books on space! But mother shakes her head. Maybe we can find a book somewhere else that provides better information on space, information that conforms to the biblical record. Well, look no further! Institute for Creation Research has produced a very nice introduction to space for children of kindergarten age to grade 5. Read the rest of this entry »

A sign of the maturity of the creation science field is that books on a broader spectrum of topics have begun to appear. Excellent as titles are on such issues as dinosaurs and radiometric dating, it is nice to see some discussion of new issues. So it is then, that Dr. Jerry Bergman’s new book entitled Evolution’s Blunders, Frauds and Forgeries is certain to attract attention. Besides, the information contained therein is certainly fascinating.

Many of us have heard of the Piltdown Man fraud and the unmasking of that fraud which rocked the scientific world in 1953. However the story of how the events unfolded before that is very interesting. Since the deception was so obvious, it is a wonder that the scientific world allowed themselves to be deceived for more than 40 years. Similarly the 1922 ‘discovery’ of Nebraska Man which turned out to be an extinct pig, is also well known. However this book by Jerry Bergman also discusses many other astonishing examples of error or downright fraud. Read the rest of this entry »

Landmark Work: What’s Wrong with ‘Survival of the Fittest’

An exciting new book was published in the fall of 2017. The author, Nathaniel Jeanson, is a specialist in molecular biology and bioinformatics with a Ph.D. in cell and developmental biology from Harvard University. With such fancy credentials, one might expect his new book to be very difficult and full of technical mumbo-jumbo! Well, Dr. Jeanson does present some very interesting information, but he does undertake to make the discussion accessible to interested readers. Excellent illustrations (some in colour) really help. Nevertheless for reading this book a good background in high school biology at least would be a big help. Read the rest of this entry »

People who live in rural regions obviously have an enormous advantage in opportunities to observe and enjoy nature. For a start, they may be able to view the night sky much better than their friends in the city whose view of the stars is dimmed by city lights. Secondly of course there are the animals who make a point of visiting the property. There may be waterfowl in the spring, ducks and geese at least, who come to refresh themselves on your pond. And how about the frogs who deafen the night with their cheerful choruses. Read the rest of this entry »

The African elephant is the largest living terrestrial mammal, even larger than most dinosaurs. Its mammoth size means their primary enemy is humans, not the major carnivores, such as lions, that inhabit its homeland. The largest recorded African elephant reached 12 feet (four meters) at the shoulder and weighed over ten tons. Called “nature’s masterpiece” and “skilled engineers” elephants are one of “the most intelligent of domesticated animals.” (Redmond, 1993, p. 6). Read the rest of this entry »

Dr. John Byl’s keynote lecture at Creation Weekend on the evening of Saturday, October 21, 2017 was entitled “Has Science Killed God? Christianity vs. Naturalism.” Many people in our modern society, Dr. Byl declared, believe that science can explain everything, so that God is not needed. These people accept that physical laws leave no room for God. Well then, said Dr. Byl, let us evaluate this position. He began by informing us that we must distinguish between the actual facts – the observed data – and scientific theories that are constructed to explain facts. Read the rest of this entry »

The 2017 award of the Nobel Prize in physiology and medicine to three Americans, Michael Rosbash, Jeffrey Hall and Michael Young, has served to stimulate our interest in a phenomenon that is actually well-known. We all know why people get hungry about the same time of day, or wake up about the same time, or suffer from jet-lag. It is because of biological clocks. So what was so special about the work of these three scientists? The story actually goes back to 1729! Read the rest of this entry »

The theme of Creation Weekend 2017 was “In Science and Faith, Worldview Matters”. Our speakers Carson Lueck and Dr. John Byl addressed this issue. Many people, in previous years, had indicated in questionnaires that they would be interested in presentations on apologetics. So here we were, considering worldviews. Naturally one might ask “What is a worldview? Why does it matter and how does it apply to our lives?” Read the rest of this entry »

A place where families can play and learn!

This summer during our annual family camping trip on a gloomy definitely-not-beach-weather kind of day, we discovered the DINOS (Discovery Institute of Nature, Origins and Science) Centre.  When someone suggested going to a new facility with a unique combination of indoor mini-golf, laser tag, and a café, as well as a Bible History Museum and an outdoor driving range, everybody agreed! Read the rest of this entry »

Most people are at least somewhat interested in artifacts left behind by ancient civilizations. That is why tourists flock to the Mayan ruins in Mexico, or to Greece or Rome, or to Stonehenge in the south of England. Dr. Donald Chittick, a physical chemist, turned his attention to some traces of ancient civilizations and what these artifacts tell us about the people who produced them. His book The Puzzle of Ancient Man (third edition 2006) includes many interesting cases including a mechanism from ancient Greece that was in fact an analog computer. This is defined as “a device for calculating quantitative data by means of moving parts –“  (Jones 2017 p. 25). In keeping with Biblical revelation, it perfectly makes sense that the ancient peoples were very clever and inventive. But just how sophisticated was this early computer? Research conducted for more than a century, since this device was discovered in an ancient shipwreck in 1900,  demonstrates that the Antikythera Mechanism was astonishingly sophisticated. (See www.create.ab.ca/ancient-computer-astounds-everybody/#more-460 ) Read the rest of this entry »

Creation Science Association of Alberta is delighted to announce two wonderful speakers for Creation Weekend on Friday October 20 and Saturday October 21, 2017.

On Friday evening Carson Lueck B.Sc., B. Ed., is scheduled to speak on “How the Authority of Scripture Impacts Science”. This session will be aimed at youth and young adults. So bring your busloads of students to this event!

On Saturday October 21 come to hear Dr. John Byl, professor emeritus from Trinity Western University in Langley, B.C. His research interests include astronomy, physics, mathematics and the interaction between Christian faith and science, he has lectured in a large number of countries all over the world.

Read the rest of this entry »