Bill Nye–Ken Ham debate

[1] Ham later announced that the publicity generated by the debate had spurred fundraising for AiG's planned Ark Encounter theme park, allowing the ministry to begin construction.

[4] The video featured Bill Nye, best known for hosting the children's educational television program Bill Nye the Science Guy during the 1990s, complaining that a significant portion of the U.S. population does not believe in evolution, asserting that this disbelief has a detrimental impact on science education in the U.S., and encouraging parents who have doubts about evolution not to teach them to their children "because we need them.

"[5] In a follow-up interview with the Associated Press, Nye said, "If we raise a generation of students who don't believe in the process of science, who think everything that we've come to know about nature and the universe can be dismissed by a few sentences translated into English from some ancient text, you're not going to continue to innovate.

"[7] Of Ham and AiG, Nye said, "This guy and his beliefs are in their midst, and we can't have this way of thinking for our science students, to have people like this organization try to insinuate themselves in our schools is not appropriate and a formula for a darker future.

"[8] Nye told the Associated Press that he didn't mind holding the debate at the Creation Museum: "It either makes me anxious, or it's an opportunity to influence that many more people and, frankly, have that much more fun.

"[8] Many in the scientific community were critical of Nye's decision to participate in the event, claiming it lent undue credibility to the creationist worldview.

[9] The Biologos Foundation, an organization promoting the compatibility of science and religion, released a statement advocating evolutionary creation, maintaining the position "that you don't have to choose.

Fossils, genetics, and other disciplines give compelling evidence that all life on earth is related and developed over a very long time through natural processes.

"[11] In preparation for the event, Nye had lunch with scientists who specialize in evolutionary theory and traveled to Oakland, California, to meet with the staff of National Center for Science Education (NCSE), an advocacy group for teaching evolution.

[11] In an op-ed for CNN, Nye answered critics, saying, "In short, I decided to participate in the debate because I felt it would draw attention to the importance of science education here in the United States.

"[12] He later conceded that he had underestimated the debate's impact, saying he expected it to draw attention comparable to his scholarly presentations at college campuses.

[13] AHA director of development and communications Maggie Ardiente told The Washington Post, "I am looking at statistics and they tell me people like Ken Ham and other creationists are being very effective and that is a serious problem.

[15] Ham told The Daily Beast that "the ticket sales won't come to half the cost of the debate.

[17] Christian public relations firm A. Larry Ross Communications estimated that almost 3 million people viewed the event live over the Internet.

"[22] He followed up by pointing to several examples of scientists who profess a belief in YEC, most notably Raymond Vahan Damadian, a pioneer in the field of magnetic resonance imaging.

"[22] In a letter published in Skeptical Inquirer after the debate, Nye wrote that by "a strong majority of accounts, I bested him.

[16] Evangelical blogger Ezra Byer credited Ham with raising awareness of the Christian message, but felt he failed to provide compelling factual evidence for his beliefs.

"[1] The Australian Broadcasting Corporation said that the debate "drew world attention, once again, on the United States as the home of whacky Christianity.

"[27] Michael Behe, a biologist at Lehigh University and an advocate of intelligent design, felt that by "talking on about the age of the Earth [rather] than on the elegance and complexities of life", both Ham and Nye lost the debate.

[24] Metropolitan Nicholas of the Greek Orthodox Church, who was trained as a scientist before taking holy orders, also criticized both Nye's and Ham's approach to the debate, saying that "Research that is done to challenge God, has the disease of prejudice.