How to nab a spot on Noah’s Ark

The controversial Ark Encounter, a Christian theme park complete with a model of Noah’s Ark, is open for business in Kentucky, US. Andrew Unsworth has the details

WHAT IS IT?

The Ark Encounter is an all-wood, life-size model of Noah's Ark in Williamstown, Kentucky. It is intended for use as a Christian religious centre, not a tourist attraction or theme park.

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WHO DESIGNED IT?

According to the Bible, God gave Noah the dimensions for the Ark in cubits. "And this is how you shall make it: The length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, its width fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits." (Genesis 6:15)

A cubit is an ancient measurement of length based on the distance from the elbow to the tip of the longest finger.

HOW BIG IS IT?

The Ark is 155m long, 25m wide and 15m high. It stretches across the length of one-and-a-half football fields and stands seven storeys high. It is claimed to be the largest timber-frame structure in the US.

It has the same storage capacity as about 500 standard semi-trailers.

WHAT WENT INTO BUILDING IT?

It was constructed by Amish woodworkers, using one million metres of wooden boards, hundreds of huge beams, and logs more than 1m in diameter and nearly 15m long. It cost more than $100-million to build, according to Australian Ken Ham, the president of Answers in Genesis, the ministry behind the project.

WHAT'S IN IT?

Inside the Ark are museum-style exhibits including Noah's family and rows of cages containing replicas of around 30 pairs of animals - including two juvenile T-Rex dinosaurs. Opponents of the scheme have mocked this, as dinosaurs died out millions of years before humans existed.

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WHY DO PEOPLE OPPOSE IT?

The project has been criticised by science groups, who say it is based on a myth and that it should not have got an $18-million state-tax incentive.

Science educator Bill Nye ("The Science Guy") took a tour of the attraction this week and called it a danger to education. "We're going to raise a generation of kids who are scientifically illiterate," he said.

HOW MUCH TO GET IN?

It is estimated that the Ark will draw two million visitors in its first year. Admission, excluding tax, is $40 (about R570) for adults, $31 for over-60s and $28 for kids aged 5 to 12.