Have you heard of Wonders Center & Science Museum?
Early in December, I had the unexpected opportunity to visit the Wonders Center & Science Museum in Dickson, Tennessee (approximately 35 minutes west of Nashville). I was delighted and surprised to find that the museum encompasses over 100,000 square feet, making it the largest science museum in Tennessee, and the largest museum in the world that “upholds biblical values.”
As I toured the Wonders Center & Science Museum, I was immediately and continually impressed with how user-friendly the exhibits were. I immediately thought, what a great place this would be for children of all school grades to visit. I couldn’t help thinking how valuable a resource this would be for homeschool parents and their children. In fact, while I was there, I noticed numerous families visiting the museum with children from the K-12 age range. The young people were captivated by the exhibits and their interactive quality.
There were exhibits of full-size dinosaurs (which really impressed me — they are big!) There was also that 1-million-volt musical Tesla Coil, which is virtually indescribable but tremendously impressive.
The 60-foot-tall full-dome planetarium will elicit a “Wow!” even before you view some of the programs exhibited there. I found myself literally saying “Wow” as I viewed the planetarium program. I also cannot imagine how excited youngsters will be as they experience the “Kids Dino Dig,” which allows them to explore paleontology firsthand and uncover a Stegosaurus in the Dino Dig sand pit.
I also found myself thinking what a great resource this would be for Christian schools that want to enrich their science curriculum. I do not see how it could not increase students’ interest and understanding in science. I know it would have excited this liberal arts major more than any high school and undergraduate college curriculum I was exposed to.
The fact that the Wonders Center is designed to increase understanding of the world around us, with the stated mission “to celebrate the wonders of the natural world while connecting them to the Creator who designed it all…” is evident from the time you walk in until the time you leave.
Interestingly, this bedrock belief in God’s creation of the universe is the bedrock that caused the scientific revolution of the 16th and 17th centuries to transpire in the countries most influenced by the Protestant Reformation (Germany, Great Britain, Holland, Switzerland, etc.). Why? They believed that God created the universe, that God was a God of order, and that by studying God’s creation, we could uncover God’s order.
As Johannes Kepler (1571-1630), the famous Lutheran German astronomer and mathematician, once said, believing God was a God of order and humans were created by God, humans could “think God’s thoughts after Him” and discover God’s order.
All these great resources provided by the Wonders Center were started by a remarkable young man, David Rives, who became fascinated by fossils after his discovery of a fossil in his backyard in Tennessee when he was 8 years old. Visitors to the museum can see David’s original fossil box and experience the story of how one boy’s curiosity and inquisitive nature turned into a world-class museum and science center.
In addition to the museum, there are several related resources that merit mention. There is a quite extensive bookstore (CreationSuperstore.com), as well as a David Rives podcast and a very informative periodical.
I have told scores of people about the Wonders Center. Some of them have already visited, and they have all been tremendously impressed. I shall go back myself in the near future. I hope you will plan a trip as well. You will not regret it.
Dr. Richard Land, BA (Princeton, magna cum laude); D.Phil. (Oxford); Th.M (New Orleans Seminary). Dr. Land served as President of Southern Evangelical Seminary from July 2013 until July 2021. Upon his retirement, he was honored as President Emeritus and he continues to serve as an Adjunct Professor of Theology & Ethics. Dr. Land previously served as President of the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (1988-2013) where he was also honored as President Emeritus upon his retirement. Dr. Land has also served as an Executive Editor and columnist for The Christian Post since 2011.
Dr. Land explores many timely and critical topics in his daily radio feature, “Bringing Every Thought Captive,” and in his weekly column for CP.
