Make a Discovery

Make a DiscoveryOne of the best-kept secrets in South Florida is the Creation Studies Institute’s (CSI) Discovery Museum in Fort Lauderdale where you will find the remains one of the largest mammoths that walked the earth. It stands 17 feet tall, the height of an adult Giraffe, and was found in the Peace River in Arcadia, Florida by CSI. This exciting discovery was identified as a Columbian mammoth (Mammuthus columbi) which was found in North and South America. These mammoths had a robust structure and easily towered over any others of its kind, even the well-known Woolly Mammoth. At CSI’s Discovery Museum, you will find that this giant mammoth was buried with at least two other large creatures of the same species. The discovery was made by Greg Rueter on one of the CSI Peace River Fossil Ice Age expeditions on Saturday evening, April 17, 1996. He found a fully-formed six-foot tusk near the bank of the river. That evening and the in following weeks they found, about 2 feet deep, a complete mandible (lower jaw), femur (thigh bone) and a humerus (upper arm). It took 3 years for CSI to unearth thousands of fossil remains belonging to these mammoths and other extinct creatures. This discovery represents one of the most significant finds in South Florida which demonstrated a special exhibit in the museum that gives great testimony to this amazing find.

This discovery reveals significant time in Florida’s history where many amazing and extinct Ice Age creatures found their home in the warmth of South Florida’s climate. These creatures migrated south because of the drastic climate change that took place during the Ice Age. The museum is famous for the plethora of fossils of Ice Age creatures collected over 15 years, representing this unique time in history. Tours usually consist of getting close and touching the actual bones of these huge creatures. A Smilodon – better known as a saber tooth cat – is displayed prominently in the front exhibit section so all can see it with its infamously huge dagger-like canine teeth. These Ice Age creatures were much larger than the domestic cats we see today and were found among the huge mammoths. Ice Age animals were giants of the land and the sea with beavers the size of black bears, sloths 18 feet tall and megalodon sharks swimming the oceans the size of a typical school bus. This phenomena is called gigantism and is demonstrated in the many different fossil exhibits throughout the museum.

The CSI Discovery Museum is centered on a biblical creation perspective that follows CSI ministry’s mission presenting fossil evidence to defy evolutionary claims and demonstrate rational explanations to support God’s Word.  The Ice Age, with its amazingly unique creatures, is explained in the background of a catastrophic worldwide event as evidenced by Noah’s flood.  There is a direct relationship of the ending one era of pre-flood activity and entering into a new era about 4000 years ago into a post-flood reign. It began with the Tower of Babel and the total migration of animals and people all over the earth during the time of an Ice Age. Many who come through the museum are brought to make important connections with the biblical time line as it relates to Ice Age animals and dinosaurs. Numerous dinosaur castings include a huge 5½ foot T. Rex skull as one enters the exhibit area. A Coelophysis – a smaller slenderer dinosaur – is hanging on a nearby wall. An assortment of many famous fish fossils can found in throughout the museum which includes a beautiful Brazilian collection of several fish buried alive in stone. There are also detailed specimens of fossils found in the Green River Formation limestone formation spread over the states Wyoming, Colorado, and Utah. These fossils clearly indicate that there was a catastrophic burial event where ocean-dwelling creatures were instantly buried intact. Those who tour this museum will see overwhelming evidence that without any question, Noah’s flood was a reality and not a myth.

In the back section, standing prominently in a corner is the famous raptor, which played a large role in the Jurassic Park movie series. This remarkable dinosaur is actually Deinonychus, armed with vicious claws that look like sickles with 70 serrated teeth that could easily inflict fatal wounds. It is mounted in an attack mode so all can see. Visitors see how this dinosaur, like so many, was designed to hunt with extraordinary engineering and workmanship that could only have come from God. The museum is filled with examples of intelligent design as exemplified in a bird’s feather, magnified onto a TV screen so that all can see. The bird’s feather is the most complex biological integumentary system (outside covering system) of an animal ever revealed. The feather is used for protection, keeping temperature stable, and, most amazingly, to defy gravity and accomplish flight. After seeing this exhibit, one will not forget the structure of a feather with its own superb Velcro system which speaks clearly of a need for a Creator and challenges the theory of evolution to its very core.

CSI’s Discovery Museum open on Saturdays to the public from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. or by appointment. There is free admission and a book store with excellent creation resources for the whole family. Over the years, thousands have scheduled group tours and special workshops for children and families. During the year there are special hands-on science classes for elementary school children in a weekly afterschool program and a full-day science class every two weeks covering a variety of topics. For adults, in conjunction with Calvary Chapel University, there are special classes held on Thursday evenings on a variety of topics which include Creation and Bible, Evidence for Creation, Consequences of Evolution, and Creation Evangelism. Creation Fellowships have been an integral part of our CSI ministry’s outreach where meetings are held on scheduled Fridays at the museum or designated locations to discuss various topics dealing with creation and the Bible. Directions to the museum and CSI events are posted at creationstudies.org. All the educational programs and exhibits at the museum are focused on simply making the believer stronger in their faith and, ultimately, reach the world with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

 

Tom DeRosa is an author, teacher, speaker, and Executive Director and Founder of Creation Studies Institute. Tom can be reached at [email protected].

Have you and/or your kids ever visited the Creation Studies Institute Museum? Tell us about your experience by emailing [email protected].

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