'Ark Encounter' Life-size Noah's Ark Replica to Open in July

A life-size replica of Noah’s Ark is being built near Williamstown, Kentucky. The project, called Ark Encounter, is headed by Ken Ham of Answers in Genesis.

CBN News reports that the massive replica of the ark is 510 feet long, 85 feet wide, and 51 feet high.

"One of the things people say when they come here, they stand and look at it and they say, 'Wow, we never realized this was so big,’” shared Ham in an interview with CBN News.

Ham and his team, which includes Amish carpenters who are lending their expertise to the project, hope to show visitors that Noah’s Ark is more than just a children’s Bible story.

"People are used to those bathtub arks with straws sticking out the chimney, about to sink at any moment," Ham said with a smile. "And when they see the size of this, then they start saying, 'Well maybe Noah could fit the land animal kinds on board.'"

"That's really what we're doing here,” Ham continued, “showing the feasibility of this: how could Noah feed them?  How could they get rid of the waste?" 

Ark Encounter is set to open to the public on July 7, 2016, a day chosen specifically since in Genesis 7:7 Noah and his family entered the ark.

"What we want people to take away from this is 'I didn't realize Noah's Ark was so big and wow, they answered a lot of questions,'" said Ham.

"And we're not forcing the Christian message on them, but it's going to be there for them. And if people just go away saying 'hmm, maybe I need to look into this. Maybe I need to consider what the Bible says,' then to me, we've accomplished a lot.”

Publication date: February 23, 2016