An Ark In Kentucky – Who Knew?

On our way up to Michigan, we stopped in Georgetown, Kentucky for a few nights.  Just a little ways up the road, we had an opportunity to check out something really cool.  The Ark Encounter.  https://arkencounter.com/ .  This is a very interesting look back into ancient history, specifically back to the book of Genesis in the Bible. 

According to the Book of Genesis, the Lord instructed Noah to ‘Make yourself an ark of gopher wood. Make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and out with pitch. This is how you are to make it: the length of the ark 300 cubits, its breadth 50 cubits, and its height 30 cubits. Make a roof for the ark, and finish it to a cubit above, and set the door of the ark in its side. Make it with lower, second, and third decks’. <https://arkencounter.com/noahs-ark/>

That’s not a lot of information to go on, but in April of 2010, the project to build a life size Ark was announced.  Construction of the Ark began in August of 2014 and on July 7, 2016 the Grand Opening was held. The size of the Ark is just amazing.  The dimensions in the Bible are in cubits.  The equivalent dimensions are 510 feet long, 85 feet wide and 51 feet high.  That is a big ship. 

This is a view as you begin walking towards the Ark. 

As you get closer, the entire Ark comes into view.

Here are pictures that give you a some perspective as to just how large the Ark is.

The inside of the Ark is an amazing display of engineering.  As you look at the pictures below, imagine the planning, engineering and man hours that went into building this Ark.  Now imagine how something like this would have been built by Noah.

In the Bible, Noah is instructed to ‘set the door of the ark in its side’. Below you can see the massive door.

With the minimal description of how the Ark was to be built, the designers made it clear that they took an enormous amount of artistic license during the building of the Ark. It was very interesting to see the plans they put together to deal with housing, feeding and the removal of the waste for all the animals and the eight humans on board.

It took about two years to build this Ark, but it is estimated that it took Noah approximately 75 years to build his Ark.

If you are ever in the Georgetown, KY area, it is well worth the drive up to Williamstown to see the Ark Encounter.