Some people believe humans lived with dinosaurs and that the universe is just 6,000 years old and followed the path of events as described by the bible, a collection of beliefs known as creationism. Many, including scientists, don't agree. The topic will be debated tonight (7:00 pm EST online live coverage on NBC and billnye.com) at the Creation Museum in Kentucky against one of the world's most visible scientists, the literal and proverbial "Science Guy," Bill Nye.

Beginning with the question, "Is creation a viable model of origins in today's modern scientific era?" Nye and Creation Museum founder Ken Ham will move back and forth between several topics in what both promise to be at least a professional manner. With the outspoken Bill Nye, you never know if that will actually be the case.

"I really don't want people looking at it as who won and who lost," Ham, who also leads Answers in Genesis, a Christian outreach organization, told NBC.

"I don't think I'm going to win Mr. Ham over, any more than Mr. Ham thinks he's going to win me over," Nye told HuffPost last month.

Still, Nye has an ulterior motive. Rather than beating Ham with words, he believes simply exposing the world to a viewpoint as extreme as Ham's is educational in itself, and may detract from and expose the creationist movement rather than build its legitimacy.

"... I want to show people that this belief is still among us ... it finds its way onto school boards in the United States," Nye said.

The former "Science Guy" host intends to demonstrate his supreme confidence in the theory of evolution and the universe's origins by entering the debate not as a scientist (he is, after all, a mechanical engineer, and not the most qualified to defend such a topic anyways), but as a "reasonable guy" -- an approach Andy Dufresne once used to great success in "The Shawshank Redemption."

"I'm not going in really as a scientist as such. I want to remind everybody - I'm a mechanical engineer," Nye said. "I'm going in as a reasonable man and I think that to just call attention to this belief system has value."

All that means is Ham will have to put on quite the performance for the sake of his belief system. If anything is to be gained from the debate, perhaps it's a lesson on persuasion.

For what it's worth, Ham's supporters believe in his oratory abilities. We'll all find out tonight. He'll certainly be the most studied man in the room, for Nye has mostly answered the question, "What ever happened to that guy Bill Nye?" recently with appearances on network channels, "Real Time With Bill Maher," and "Dancing With the Stars."

Based on pre-debate coverage and Nye's reputation, it seems the two speakers will take on classic roles -- Nye the indignant scientist, Ham the eerily calm purveyor of an extremist viewpoint.

"We want to make it as professional as possible, as first class as possible, cutting edge," Ham said. "Of the people who come here, probably a majority of them would support our position on Genesis, and they're thrilled with the quality. Usually the comment I get is that it exceeds their expectations. They love having a family-friendly place that they can bring their children to in particular, and not worry about what they see and what they read. It teaches what they're teaching their children."