The Ark Encounter, Kentucky
Creationist Ken Ham dreamed big in 2010: build the world’s biggest timber-frame structure, make it look exactly like Noah’s Ark, and stick it in Kentucky farm country.
Fast forward through $100 million of investor cash, tax incentive drama, and one massive construction project later, and boom – the Ark Encounter opened in 2016.
Now the world’s largest timber-frame structure sits off I-75, complete with dinosaur cages and a zoo’s worth of animal models. Here’s more of the story.
It’s the World’s Biggest Wood Building
Over 1,000 Amish craftsmen built this massive replica using old-fashioned methods, even bending wood by hand instead of with steam.
They needed 3.1 million board feet of timber to finish the job, with some main support logs measuring over 3 feet thick and nearly 50 feet long.
If you laid all the boards end-to-end, they’d stretch from Kentucky to Philadelphia, that’s over 600 miles of lumber.
They used strict biblical measurements
Before building could start, they had to decide how long a ‘cubit’ actually was.
After lots of research, they picked the Hebrew royal cubit of 20.4 inches, which is on the shorter end of historical royal cubits (they ranged from 20.4-21.6 inches). This decision set the Ark’s final size at 510 feet long, 85 feet wide, and 51 feet high.
They followed the Bible’s specifications from Genesis 6:15 exactly: 300 cubits long, 50 cubits wide, and 30 cubits high.
Wood Traveled Thousands Of Miles To Get Here
All the Douglas fir used inside the Ark came from forests in Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia before making the long journey to Kentucky.
Colorado Timberframe handled the job because they were the only U.S. company that could mill logs up to 50 feet long and 36 inches thick.
It took 120 semi-trucks to deliver all the timber, and each piece was numbered so workers knew exactly where it belonged.
In total, they used about 7,800 cubic meters of wood from sustainable forests and followed green building methods.
Dinosaurs “Walk” Alongside Humans Here
Inside the Ark, you’ll see exhibits that don’t match what you learned in science class.
Nearly 100 sculpted animals, including dinosaurs, are shown living at the same time as humans.
These displays fit with young Earth creationist beliefs that our planet is only about 6,000 years old. The most talked-about exhibits show a sinful pre-flood world with scenes of humans fighting giants and dinosaurs in arenas.
Many scientists and educators criticize these displays as misleading, especially for younger visitors.
Amish Brothers Led The Construction Team
Two Amish brothers, Orie and Ernest Lehman from northern Indiana, managed the timber frame building team.
They got the job after building a huge 51,000-square-foot, three-story timber market near Elkhart, Indiana.
Every Monday, the brothers and their crews drove to Kentucky from homes across four different states, working all week before heading home on Fridays. They built the Ark in sections called ‘bents,’ with each piece weighing up to 16 tons.
By the end, they were putting up two of these massive sections every week.
Job Seekers Had To Sign Faith Statements
When hiring 300-400 workers in April 2016, Ark Encounter required all applicants to sign a statement agreeing with young Earth creationism and other specific Christian beliefs.
In January 2016, Federal Judge Gregory F. Van Tatenhove ruled that as a religious group, Answers in Genesis could hire based on religious beliefs.
Kentucky Took Back $18 Million In Tax Breaks
Kentucky officials first promised $18 million in tax breaks but later pulled the offer because of the religious hiring requirements.
When Answers in Genesis sued, they won on religious freedom grounds. Beyond state help, Williamstown provided $62 million in bonds to fund the project.
When Governor Matt Bevin took office in December 2015, he supported the tax breaks, changing the previous administration’s stance.
A Special Money Zone Surrounds The Ark
Williamstown created an unusual deal to attract this massive project.
Officials made a 1.25-mile circle around the Ark where 75% of sales and property taxes go back to Ark Encounter for 30 years.
On top of that, workers in this zone pay a 2% job tax that goes straight to the Ark.
When news about the project leaked early and made local land prices double, Grant County paid $195,000 to Answers in Genesis as compensation.
Kentucky also spent over $10 million improving roads and building a new interstate exit to handle all the expected traffic.
Modern Systems Hide Inside Ancient Design
Despite looking ancient, the Ark has modern environmental systems built in.
It follows LEED-certified green building standards with geothermal heating and systems to collect rainwater.
The air conditioning can handle up to 10,000 visitors at once, though they usually limit daily visitors to about 3,000. The whole structure sits on 102 concrete pillars with the bottom 12.5 feet off the ground.
Three seven-story towers inside provide support and hold modern necessities like elevators, stairs, restrooms, and a 50,000-gallon underground water tank for fire safety.
Bugs Helped Build The Ark
The construction team made environmentally smart choices when picking materials.
Most of the huge logs came from forests damaged by beetle outbreaks, using trees that would otherwise go to waste.
Workers moved over 500,000 cubic yards of dirt to prepare the site, which sits on solid rock just four feet underground.
To meet building codes, they made the first floor from concrete, using about 3,500 yards of poured concrete and 6,000 yards of precast concrete slabs.
Workers Built Around The Clock
To finish on time, the construction schedule was intense. Colorado Timberframe ran three shifts working 24 hours a day, six days a week for about a year to complete all the wood components.
They hired extra workers, with 25 people in the shop (including hand cutters, machine operators, and yard workers) plus another 10 on the installation crew.
Each structural cross-section initially took two weeks to build and install, but by the end, crews could finish one in just a week. The whole project took about 18 months and cost $100 million.
Tower Of Babel Comes Next To The Ark
This massive boat is just the beginning of a much bigger biblical theme park.
Answers in Genesis has announced plans to add a Tower of Babel attraction designed to address racism by showing humanity’s common ancestry.
They’ve already acquired a huge indoor model of first-century Jerusalem (said to be the largest in the United States) from the closed Holy Land Experience in Florida. This model will get its own building at the Ark site.
Future additions include recreating ancient walled cities and a replica of Solomon’s temple.
These new attractions aim to boost yearly attendance, which hasn’t reached their initial goal of 1.4-2.2 million visitors.
Visiting The Ark Encounter
You’ll find the Ark Encounter at 1 Ark Encounter Drive in Williamstown, Kentucky, just off I-75 at exit 154. Open Monday-Saturday 9:00 a.m.-7:00 p.m., closed Sundays. Adult tickets cost about $50 with $15 parking for regular vehicles.
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