Jonathan Park Audio Adventures Review

My Review of Jonathan Park Audio Adventures

I was introduced to Jonathan Park Audio Adventures when I won a giveaway of a set of books on a friend's blog.  I already knew that my friend and her family loved listening to Jonathan Park, but I had never heard of them before.  It was the perfect opportunity to see what my friend liked about the Jonathan Park.  We found the books to be exciting and good at explaining concepts from creation science.

Then, Vision Forum (the original maker of the Jonathan Park Audio Adventures) closed down and was having a clearance sale on the CDs, so I was thrilled to be able to buy the entire set at a much reduced price.  However, it was sad that it seemed that Jonathan Park was ending just as I discovered it.  Thankfully, Jonathan Park was bought out and the series continues.  

My family listened to all of the Jonathan Park series and found them to be intriguing, striking, and thought-provoking.  My son loved the drama and excitement.  He already loved watching PBS's Wild Kratts and the Creation Proclaims videos so he already loved anything about science.  My husband and I loved the discussion of creation science ideas (some of which were new and some of which were not new).  It was refreshing to hear science without all of the evolution assumptions being scattered throughout it.  

We own all ten volumes of the older CD sets (the ones put out by Vision Forum before Jonathan Park was bought out) as well as the zoo and aquarium guides (which are perfect to listen to on the drive to the zoo or aquarium).  Each of the older CD volumes contains twelve episodes that are each approximately 26 minutes long.  Jonathan Park Goes to the Zoo and Jonathan Park Goes to the Aquarium each discuss 100 animals (4 CDs with 25 animals each).   You can still find some of the older CD sets for sale from merchants online like Answers in Genesis.  

Since Jonathan Park was bought and restructured, the episodes have also been repackaged.  The new CDs can be purchased individually as albums and contain 3 episodes.   You can also buy a series pack that contains 4 albums.  

Jonathan Park is also available from iTunes.  They sell the new albums as well as individual episodes.  If you aren't sure if you will like Jonathan Park, trying out one episode is a great way to sample them (and get hooked too).

The reasons we LOVE Jonathan Park:

• Their plots are spell-binding and keep you coming back for more.
• It teaches creation science in a way that makes it so interesting that you forget that you are learning.
• It is great to listen to in the car for everyday travels or for long road trips.  In our experience, kids don't get car sick as easily when listening to radio dramas as they do watching movies because they can look forward at the horizon while listening.
• Audio adventures or radio dramas are great at catching your attention while still leaving the visual to your imagination.  They are supposed to stimulate your brain more than videos or audiobooks.
• It shows that it is OK to question the assumptions made by evolutionary science.
• It believes in the literal interpretation of the Bible.

What Jonathan Park is NOT:

• An in-depth study about creation science. -- If you want to study creation science more in depth where sources are listed, this is not what you are looking for.  However, it will give you ideas of things to research and get you and your kids interested in researching those ideas.
• A curriculum. --  While it is an excellent tool to draw you into studying creation science and it does teach you ideas, it does not have the content to replace a full science curriculum.  It could be used to introduce certain topics, but it can not stand on its own as a curriculum
• A thorough defense of creation science. --  While there are other sources that explain and defend the tenets of creation science, this is not the resource for that.  It is great to expose you to creation science ideas and have a fun time while you learn these concepts.  If you are looking for a great defense of creation science, try something like Answers in Genesis'  The NEW Answers Book 1.  There are plenty of other resources at Answers in Genesis Bookstore.  

Conclusion:

We love Jonathan Park and hope that you try some episodes.  My guess is that you and your family will be hooked like so many other people.


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