Noah's Ark Set to be Erected in Kentucky

By: By Eric Zerkel

Published: February 28,2014

ArkEncounter, Youtube

An artist's rendering of the construction phase of a planned 510-foot ark in Kentucky.

America, round up your animals in pairs. After more than three years of roadblocks, a Christian ministry says it finally received adequate funding to erect a 510-foot ark akin to the one mentioned in the biblical tale of Noah. And if a three-story wooden boat doesn't satiate your thirst for the biblical, you're in luck. The ark is only the first wave in a flood of biblically-themed monuments set to be erected as a part of a $120 million theme park.
The theme park, dubbed Ark Encounter, was first proposed by the Christian ministry Answers in Genesis back in 2010. But private donations for the park ran dry and the prospect for a giant ark on the Kentucky hillside seemed doomed, reports the Associated Press. That all changed after Answers in Genesis president Ken Ham staged a highly publicized "creationism" vs. "science" debate against famed science proponent Bill Nye on Feb. 4.
According to the AP, the debate gave Ham a platform to revitalize both his Creation Museum and funding for the Ark Encounter project. An uptick in private donations coupled with a bond from the city of Williamsport, Ky. — the proposed site for the theme park — worth an estimated $61 million, reports the Associated Press, helped set the plans for construction in motion. Ark Encounter officials say most of the bonds were sold to investors, according to a report in The Courier-Journal. The Ark Encounter's website reports more than $14 million in private donations.
The first phase of the theme park, which will include the ark and a petting zoo, is expected to cost roughly $70 million, $24.5 million of which will be dedicated to building the ark alone, reports The Courier-Journal. In subsequent phases the theme park would add interactive attractions like animal shows, a special-effects theater and a rustic first-century village as well as other constructions related to Biblical tales like the "Tower of Babel." All told, the project will check-in at $120 million and spread across an 800-acre space off of I-75 roughly 40 miles south of downtown Cincinnati.
The decision hasn't been met without opposition, though. Science advocates argue the theme park would validate a "false account of world history and biology," reports the Courier-Journal. Ham and other creationists argue that the site would "present America and other nations with a reminder about the Bible's account of the Ark."
For politicians, the motivation to build the park appears to be purely economic. Williamstown Mayor Rick Skinner told the Courier-Journal that the town was "happy to be home to the Ark" and that construction of the theme park would create hundreds of jobs and attract attention to otherwise rural community.
Indeed, Grant County – which includes the city of Williamstown – economic development director Wade Gutman echoed those praises.
“Thank you for the jobs you are going to bring to Grant County," Gutman told the Cincinnati Enquirer. "Thank you for the economic impact it will have on Grant County.”
Even though construction is set to begin this year the park likely won't open up until 2016. In the meantime, maybe you can use your imagination to conjure up thoughts of just how terrifying a creepy, abandoned Ark would be.
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1924: The rollercoaster ride at the fair at Wembley exhibition, London. (General Photographic Agency/Getty Images)