Creation museum near volcano
celebrates a decade of operation

   SILVERLAKE, Wash. — The 7 Wonders Creation Museum near Mount St. Helens celebrated its 10th anniversary with a full day of events enjoyed by more than 100 people, Saturday, Sept. 27. Located in the Toutle Valley next to state Hwy 504, the museum just finished an extensive outdoor improvement plan in time for the gala.
   Early risers heard special guest geologist Stephen Austin present his quest for a trail to the “Langes Crest Overlook” within the Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument. More than 40 people joined the museum’s board of directors for their breakfast meeting and discussed ways they might help promote the trail.
   Austin’s proposed trail would be a spur off the Boundary/Truman Trail, allowing hikers to view canyons formed by the series of explosive eruptions between 1980 and 1982. These canyons and how they formed rapidly are significant in understanding geology not only at Mount St. Helens but elsewhere.
   Austin, who has 30 years of experience studying sites around the world as part of his work with the Institute for Creation Research, says Mount St. Helens is one of the most important in understanding the processes by which canyons can be formed. He has co-authored the book, Footprints in Ash, and is the principal presenter in the DVD, Mount St. Helens, Explosive Evidences for Catastrophe.
   Austin was also one of seven creation scientists involved in an eight-year study of radiometric dating to explore why dates so drastically differ with the biblical dating of the earth’s age. The typical answer was that the Bible is a faith document, not a scientific document. No one had seriously questioned the viability of the scientific methods up to that time. ICR’s study uncovered conflicting scientific clocks; some that say the earth is billions of years old and others that say it is only thousands of years old. They resolved this dilemma with strong scientific arguments that the old age clocks were produced by a more rapid rate of decay while showing that no sound scientific argument has been found to falsify the clocks that say the earth is only thousands of years old. Technical articles explaining the research are available at the 7 Wonders Museum.
   Improvements at the 7 Wonders Museum include a mural of Mount St. Helens painted by artist Pauline Brunt of the Design Science Association of Portland. It is a feature of the museum’s new courtyard that replaced the old parking area after completion of paved asphalt parking near the highway. Brunt has painted an imaginative composite for the purpose of displaying the canyons formed in nine hours by mudflows on March 19, 1982 and Step Canyon, which was formed in five months of mudflows the summer and fall of 1980. Step Canyon is 700 feet deep on the face of the mountain, carved through hard rock. The nine-hour canyons are an example of soft rock erosion, some as deep as 140 feet.
   The 7 Wonders Museum, acting as a “Friend of the Trail,” sponsored Austin’s trip from Santee, Calif. So far the trail has been turned down by St. Helens monument officials. While they agree that “it has merit,” they find no funds for it at this time. The monument has been under the scrutiny of state and county officials who are trying to decide the value of Mount St. Helens becoming a national park administrated by the Department of Interior, which has more funding for its projects. Various interest groups differ on which department of the government should manage the Mount St. Helens volcanic area.
   Meetings of the Mount St. Helens Advisory Committee are being held monthly for public input regarding problems of recreational access, need for improved infrastructure, funding for maintenance and development, ongoing research and failing tourism. For a schedule of remaining meetings phone Cowlitz County Commissioners Office at 360-577-3020.
   The 7 Wonders Creation Museum is at 4749 Spirit Lake Hwy, 9.5 miles from Interstate 5’s Exit 49. Museum hours this winter are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, and Sunday and Monday by appointment only. Phone the museum at 360-274-5737 for an appointment.
   The museum’s web site, www. Creationism.org/sthelens, also can be accessed through its tourism link, visitmtsthelens.com. At the latter site, click on the 7 Wonders logo depicted on the colorful tourism car.


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