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About IDEA Center

Classes & Seminars

IDEA Course in Orange County
Our current IDEA Course is a 15 week course entitled, The IDEA Course in Orange County. Please see the Classes & Seminar page under the News & Events menu for details about the course.

Please note that the above graphic is not intended to be a mockery of Sir Charles Darwin or the theory of evolution. It is merely a parody of the movie Orange County and is just for fun. The IDEA Center respects scientists, and all scientific theories of origins, including evolutionary theory, and Sir Charles Darwin, though we believe evolution is incapable of explaining the origin of biological complexity.

The IDEA Center teaches both 5-15 week "IDEA Courses" and 1-day seminars.

 

Courses broadly cover many topics of relevance to the debate over intelligent design and evolution, while shorter seminars touch on the highlights in the debate. Time allowances determine how much material can be covered. So far, over four full IDEA Courses have been taught, including the current 15-week IDEA Course in Orange County (see graphic at right). Seminars have been enjoyed by junior high and high school science classes, as well as college students. All IDEA speakers are experienced in teaching science.

 

Classes and seminars are adjusted to the needs of the audience and can be rendered appropriate for those at any level of education. Most presentations are multimedia can be made via PowerPoint or overhead projector, and include handouts for attendees.  Some presentations include programmed computer demonstrations.  For students, there are handouts, hands-on activities, and games. We find these help reinforce the concepts and make the presentations fun! 

 

If you are interested in having the IDEA Center teach a class or seminar fore your students, church group, or community group, please contact us at info@ideacenter.org or see our IDEA Center Guest Speaker page

 

Our desire is to educate people about these issues and make information accessible to anyone.  Our policy is that our charge for seminars is minimal and designed to cover materials, travel, lodging, and a donation to our ongoing work. "Phone Conference-Call" lectures have also been done when travel is not possible.  For multi-week classes, we charge a small per-person fee for materials.  The IDEA Center is a non-profit organization and extra donations are always accepted. 

 

Topics covered at seminars and classes include:

  • Introduction to intelligent design theory and the creation - evolution issue
  • Definitions, History, and Common Issues Faced in the Creation – Evolution Issue
  • Anthropic Principle and Cosmic Design
  • The Chemical Origins of Life
  • Various Views on Creation and Evolution
  • Basic Problems with Evolution (the "Icons") including topics relating to:
    • Developmental Biology
    • Natural Selection
    • Genetics and Mutations
    • Molecular Evolution
    • "Junk DNA"
  • Legal Issues in Teaching Intelligent Design and Evolution
  • The Fossil Record:
    • Explosions in the Fossil Record
    • Transitional Forms
    • Human Origins
    • General Overview of the Fossil Formation and the Fossil Record
  • What it Means to be Human
  • Introduction to Systems Science
  • Advanced Topics in Intelligent Design:
    • The Origin of Biological Complexity
    • The Explanatory Filter
    • Objections to Design: Gene Duplication, Co-option, and Pre-Adaptation
    • "Sub-Optimal" design and "Junk-DNA."
  • Philosophical Implications of Intelligent Design and Evolution