Welcome back explorers, and thanks for tuning in!
Now, you might be familiar with the biblical story of Noah's Ark and the Great Flood.
You know, the one where God told Noah to build a giant ship, and then sent him two of every
kind of animal to ride out a worldwide flood for a year so they could repopulate the Earth?
Well, scientists have been searching for the Ark for centuries, but I actually found it.
And it's right here in North America in the town of Williamstown, Kentucky.
Ok, no, it's not the real Noah's Ark, but its impressive size and the story behind this
replica in northern Kentucky is definitely worth checking out.
As always, I can't wait to tell you all about it, so first, please be sure to like this
video, subscribe to this channel, and ring that bell so you can be the first to watch
all of our latest videos.
So, this massive Noah's Ark replica is actually part of an 800-acre, Christian religious theme
park called Ark Encounter that opened to the public in 2016.
It was built by a partnership of two organizations: the young Earth creationism group Answers
in Genesis and the for-profit corporation Ark Encounter, LLC.
According to these organizations, the purpose of the park would be "to lend credence to
the biblical account of a catastrophic flood and to dispel doubts that Noah could have
fit two of every kind of animal onto a 500-foot-long ark."
The park officially opened on July 7, 2016, a date intentionally chosen to correspond
with Genesis 7:7, which states, "And Noah and his sons and wife and his son's wives
entered the ark to escape the waters of the flood."
When I visited the park, I was struck by the sheer size and magnitude of the operation.
Visitors arrive at a massive parking lot, which, if I had to guess, could accommodate
somewhere in the neighborhood of 4,000 vehicles.
After passing through admissions, guests then hop aboard one of dozens of large busses that
ferry visitors to and from the parking lot every few minutes.
Once inside the park, the ark is quite an impressive sight.
Its dimensions of 510 feet long, 85 feet wide, and 51 feet high were chosen by converting
the biblical cubit measurements found in the book of Genesis to modern measurements.
Now for those of you wondering, no, this ark replica is not seaworthy.
In a 2016 interview between Answers in Genesis founder Ken Ham and Bill Nye "the Science
Guy," Ham stated, "we didn't build it to float because there's never going to be another
global flood.
It was designed as a ship but built as a building."
The inside of the ark is equally impressive with 3 massive decks filled with animal enclosures
and storage areas, simulating what the layout of the real Noah's Ark from the bible might
have looked like.
There is also exhibit upon exhibit depicting biblical accounts of the pre- and post-flood
world as well as the living quarters for Noah and his family.
RoadsideAmerica.com rated a handful of the displays depicting the biblical account of
the pre-flood world as the most memorable exhibits.
Now, if you plan on visiting Ark Encounter for yourself, you should know that there is
a lot, and I mean a lot, of visual information to process.
The ark itself is two football fields long with three decks, and I'm not going to lie,
I felt a little braindead by the time I reached the exit.
It is information overload.
On their website, Ark Encounter recommends that you allow for a full day, at least 5-6
hours, at the park.
A few other things you should know before visiting the park - the organization that
operates Ark Encounter, Answers in Genesis, is a fundamentalist Christian apologetics
organization.
What does that mean?
Well, they advocate Young Earth creationism through a very literal interpretation of the
book of Genesis, and they reject any scientific findings that contradict these views.
You will find "dinosaur" exhibits at Ark Encounter, but Answers in Genesis is adamant in their
belief that these creatures were created only a few thousand years ago, and only juvenile
dinosaurs were taken aboard the real ark to save space.
So no, this is not your typical theme park.
My best description for the place would be, an Old Testament Disneyland, without the rides
and character performers.
During your visit, be sure to walk around the petting zoo just outside the ark and enjoy
a buffet-style meal at Emzara's Kitchen, a 1,500-guest capacity restaurant, making it
one of the largest in the world.
Before you go, if you've been to Ark Encounter, please share a little bit about your visit
in the comments below.
We'd love to hear about your experience, good or bad!
Or, if you are planning a visit and have questions, ask away and I'd be happy to answer based
on my experience at the park.
Anyway, that does it for this video, thank you so much for stopping by!
And as always, remember to get out and explore!