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In response to a number of questions asking us where a good creation science page for kids could be found, we had to admit we did not know.  There are lots of pages for adults, but none we are aware of for kids.




Barry and Helen Setterfield


Autumn, 2014: Barry and Helen were asked to present a series of lectures to grades 7 and 8 at a nearby Christian school . Their teacher asked each student to prepare a list of three questions to ask for each presentation. The result was about 500 questions for us to answer. Because we have learned that if one student asks something, others often have the same question in their minds, we have started a special section in which these questions will be answered. Because there are about 500, it will take us about a month to answer all of them completely, but as each group is answered, we will post them.

the Big Bang and Black Holes
Fossils and Dinosaurs
The Earth's Crust and the Geologic Column
Impacts and Craters
Volcanoes and Geysers
The Earth, Inside and Out
Noah and the Flood





Could Adam and Eve see the stars?
Do stars come from the sun?
Is Pluto still a planet?
Is there life on Mars?
Can you stand under the moon?
How many galaxies are there?
What happens during a solar eclipse?
Will it fly?
Do planets put out their own light?

September, 2007


Answer: Thank you for your question.  First, just to correct something you said. Light from the nearest star reaches us in four years at the speed light is going now. Light from our sun (which is actually our nearest star) only takes eight minutes to get to us.














March, 2007

From Max, fourth grade May 10, 2007

1.  Do the stars come from the sun? 






5.  How many galaxies are there?





The question is:



[there have been several disagreements to our response sent to us in emails. Here is a good explanation from Doug Harold which disagrees with us:

I believe that there is an error in the response. The plane will fly, because the wheels on an airplane are free-wheeling. Just release the brakes, & the prop or jet engine will cause the airplane to move forward & develop lift regardless of the conveyor. The conveyor could be running backwards at 1000 times the required take-off speed of the plane, & the plane will still accelerate in the opposite direction of the conveyor, develop lift, and take off normally. (Of course, this neglects the very small amount of friction in the wheel bearings.)

If you were to lock the brakes on the plane (& assuming that neither they nor the tires slip), then the plane will move backwards along with the conveyor (not developing lift) regardless of whether or not the engine is running. It could be running wide open, & the plane will still move backwards at the speed of the conveyor (as long as the brakes are locked).

On the other hand, if one were to fasten wings on a car & place it on the conveyor in a similar fashion, then the car would remain in place (& the wings would not develop lift). However, an aircraft does not develop forward thrust using its tires as a car does.

I realize this isn't an important issue. I just thought that I would mention it in passing.

in a second email, giving us permission to put his explanation up here, he continued:

As far as visualizing this problem, forget about the engine & prop for a moment. Instead, put the plane on the conveyor & hook up a horse standing on the ground beside the conveyor. With the brakes unlocked & the wheels spinning freely, will the horse be able to pull the plane forward (even with the conveyor running in the opposite direction)? Of course, it will; the thing to remember is that the wheels are able to spin freely & forward thrust does not depend on the motion of the conveyor. So the conveyor doesn't accomplish a thing in this case (so long as the brakes are not applied).

On the other hand, a car is altogether different, because it develops forward thrust using its wheels which are in contact with the conveyor. So if the conveyor is running backwards at the same speed that the cars speedometer reads, then the car is setting still.]

From Nicole May, 2007:

I don't understand something.  You said that the giant planets put on their own light but I had never heard of that.  Can you tell me more about that?  Thank you!

Answer: The question you asked related to the radiation reflected from the Sun by the giant planets. We can measure the amount of energy that the planets reflect from the Sun in all wavelengths. We can also measure the amount of energy the planets radiate into space. As it turns out, Jupiter, Saturn and Neptune radiate more energy into space than they receive from the Sun. The indication is that the interiors of these planets are hot. One estimate for Jupiter gives its core temperature as 20,000 degrees Kelvin. The heat may come from radioactive decay processes or gravitational compression, or both. Note that the giant planets do not produce energy by nuclear fusion as they are too small and too cool. However, the heat from their interiors is largely responsible for the turbulence we see in their cloud-tops, with some resulting from the high rotation rate. Surprisingly, Uranus does not radiate more energy into space than it receives from the sun and so its cloud-tops are not as active as the other giant planets. The reason for this has not yet been fully discerned.