Creationism Comes to the County Fair

Alexandria, Va. — County fairs are opportunities to bring in those handsome Holsteins competing for Best Bessie, to sample foods that don’t normally belong on sticks and definitely shouldn’t be deep-fried, and to enjoy carnival rides and games with unfavorable odds. They’re also opportunities to get the attention of a lot of people. Just ask the exhibitors who rent space to hawk their wares — everything from kitchen knives to leaf-free gutters. And in some locations, those exhibitors include creationists asking, “Why do thousands of scientists believe Darwin was wrong?”

County fairs have proved good places for creationists to reach captive audiences. How can scientists counter this county fair push with messages of their own? Read about one science supporter’s attempt to offer a more scientific alternative in the July issue of EARTH Magazine: http://bit.ly/

For more stories about the science of our planet, check out EARTH Magazine online or subscribe at www.earthmagazine.org. The July issue, now available on the digital newsstand, features stories on parasites spreading across the warming Arctic, traveling through the high terrain of Tajikistan, and researchers finding new evidence of clustering of earthquakes on the San Andreas Fault, plus much more.