Creationism at the Causeway 2 - NT reconsiders

The response to my complaint to the National Trust was a request that I take the issue up with the Trust's Northern Ireland office, which I duly did. I got a prompt reply which suggests that a welcome change may be in prospect.

Thank you for getting in touch about the new Giant’s Causeway Visitor Centre.

We have been receiving a large number of views via email and social media expressing concern that the Trust is somehow endorsing or promoting creationism in our new interpretation at the Giant’s Causeway.

Our new exhibition and outdoor audio guide clearly set out the science of the Causeway’s formation and shaping - that the Causeway is around 60 million years old.

There is one small exhibit in the visitor centre which briefly references creationism. It was our intention to present this view in the context of an historical debate about the age of the Earth.

However we recognise that many people have written to us concerned that the wording of the exhibit suggests that there is an ongoing debate in science about the formation of the Causeway - we are trying to listen to these views and take account of them. The National Trust is very clear that there is no debate in science.

The Trust’s approach is focussed on our visitors and members. We always try to respond to their feedback about how we present information and stories where we can. We have therefore decided to review the interpretative materials in this small section of the Visitor Centre.

You can find out more about this here:
http://ntpressoffice.wordpress.com/2012/07/18/giants-causeway-visitor-centre-interpretation-statement/

We hope this addresses your concerns. 

I wrote to thank them for taking the criticism seriously. Let's hope they actually make the change without being nobbled by the fundamentalist lobby again.