In the Book of Genesis chapters 6 to 9 of the Holy Bible, Christians can read how God saved Noah, his family and all types of animals from the Great Flood thanks to a giant Ark. Soon, Christians will not just be able to read this amazing story of salvation; they will also be able to experience it themselves.
The creationist group called Answers in Genesis is expected to open in the coming month the "Ark Encounter"-- a $150-million amusement park built in Williamstown, Kentucky that seeks to explain the Bibilical story of Noah's Ark to families, especially young children, according to a creationist perspective.
The group behind the amusement park invited select organisations, including CBN News, to an exclusive tour of the facility.
Ken Ham, founder of Answers in Genesis and head of the Creation Museum, himself led the tour across the 510 feet long, 85 feet wide, 51 feet high facility-- about the length of two football fields.
"It's built 15 feet off the ground," Ham told CBN News. "One of the things people say when they come here, they stand and look at it and they say, 'Wow, we never realised this was so big.'"
Visitors will have to park their vehicles on a nearby hill, and from there, they will have to take shuttle buses down through a valley, where they will get a glimpse of the humongous ark.
Mark Looy, co-founder of Answers in Genesis, meanwhile promised that the Ark Encounter will be a "jaw-dropping experience."
Ham said that the amusement park will explain how Noah was able to follow God's plan to save mankind and all animals using the ark.
"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: showing the feasibility of this: how could Noah feed them? How could they get rid of the waste?" Ham continued.
The creationist group's leader expects the Ark Encounter to attract up to 2 million visitors annually.
"I believe it's going to be one of the greatest Christian outreaches of our era of history," he said.
