[A groundbreaking event in the fight for Biblical authority!]  Freezing rain and a cold wind did not daunt the more than 600 AiG supporters who traveled from several states to participate in the March 17 groundbreaking ceremony for AiG's future Creation Museum in the greater Cincinnati, Ohio area (USA).

The 260 cars parked in the muddy 47-acre field displayed license plates from several states, including Alabama, Illinois, Michigan, Missouri, and Tennessee; one AiG supporter, Mr Elton Batchelor, told us that he drove all the way from northcentral Arkansas (more than a 600-mile journey) just to be a part of this historic event in the continued battle for the accuracy of the Bible. And then we found that a Florida couple drove 14 hours from Florida to be with us!

More than 600 AiG supporters celebrated with us on a cold, windy day!

Ken Ham, AiG -US Executive Director, told the wet, shivering, but enthusiastic crowd that it was his prayer that the Creation Museum will be used by God to help bring America back to the authority of the Bible, and that it will also be an international outreach through the medium of the Internet, where a 'virtual tour' of the museum will eventually be offered to Web visitors from around the world.

Mr Ham said that he hopes that the first phase of the museum will be open in late 2002, and that he believes thousands of Bible-believers around America-and overseas-will get behind the mortgage-free project so that the 2002 deadline could be met.

At the groundbreaking ceremony, AiG also unveiled its newest dinosaur model sculpted by Buddy Davis: a magnificent 17-foot long, 10-foot high Stegosaurus. It will join the 70 other first-class models that Buddy has exquisitely sculpted for the museum.

After AiG board members and founding directors put their shovels in the ground, supporters participated in their own digging (helping AiG get a head start on grading and excavating, which begins March 19), and then made their way to a large tent erected on the property, where warm drinks awaited as they escaped the chill of the wind and the pelting of the frozen rain.

Ken Ham and dinosaur sculptor Buddy Davis greet the supporters.

Inside the tent, guests met nationally known artist William Hallmark, whose painting 'In the Beginning' was on display. Many visitors took the opportunity to pick up a print of 'In the Beginning' for their donation to the museum project. They also chatted with AiG's Skip Tilton, who informed them that AiG is looking for construction-related businesses to help build the $14 million museum/headquarters facility by donating some of their construction services to the project in lieu of cash. Meanwhile, several media representatives interviewed AiG officials outside the tent (which later led to major news reports throughout the region) and a plane circled overhead, a photographer on board taking photos of the historic event below.

To check on the museum's progress, please return to this Web site often. To donate to the Bible-upholding museum outreach, see our donations page.

Photographs courtesy of Ric Wood.  http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/2001/03/19/groundbreaking-event