This week, “The Ark Encounter,” a 510-foot replica of Noah’s Ark as it is described in the Old Testament, opens in Kentucky. And along with examples of a variety of different kinds of animals (also, as described in the Bible) and Bible exhibits, as several earlier reports indicate, the ark also features caged dinosaurs.
The $100 million attraction was built by the organization Answers in Genesis, the same organization behind the nearby Creation Museum. Both of the attractions are somewhat controversial among some Christians for its interpretation of the book of Genesis and its scientific implications—specifically, that according to their readings of the Old Testament—that the earth is only 6,000 years old. That means that dinosaurs would have lived alongside humans. Those are both views not held by most mainstream scientists.
Despite the dino-controversy, as a feat of engineering, the Ark Encounter is pretty impressive: The giant vessel is made almost entirely out of actual wood. Answers in Genesis founder Ken Ham told the L.A. Times, “I believe this is going to be one of the greatest Christian outreaches of this era in history.”