Kentucky's Ark Encounter Celebrates 5th Anniversary, Founder Ken Ham Announces 'Tower of Babel' Expansion
The Ark Encounter, a biblical-theme park featuring a 510-foot-long replica of Noah's ark located in Williamstown, Kentucky, recently celebrated its fifth anniversary.
The Grant County News reports apologist Ken Ham, CEO and founder of Answers in Genesis, which operates the Ark Encounter and Creation Museum, looked back at the last five years and also announced the attraction's next expansion – the Tower of Babel and a scale model of how Jerusalem appeared during the time of Jesus Christ.
"I'll add too that we have now finished the lower level of the Answers Center where we will have added a state-of-the-art science lab for student programs," Ham told the paper. "Next year, we will start fundraising for a Tower of Babel attraction that we hope to open in three or four years, where among other things we will help people understand what genetics research and the Bible say about the origin of all the people groups around the world."
Artist's rendition of the future Tower of Babel expansion. (Image credit: Answers in Genesis)
"I can assure you: it will be a fascinating, eye-opening attraction," he added.
Then in 2022, the park will add a scale model of the city of Jerusalem.
"Perhaps sometime in 2022, we will add an exceptionally well-done scale model of what Jerusalem may have looked like at the time of Christ," he continued. "Also, for children, we'll create a themed carousel for them to ride, hopefully to open by next summer. These are just a few of the things we will be adding to our 800-acre property."
The Ark Encounter is also planning a scale model of Jerusalem as it appeared during the time of Christ. Pictured is the Jewish Temple. (Image credit: Answers in Genesis)
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After the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting restrictions, briefly closed the Ark Encounter last year, the $100 million attraction has reported the crowds have returned, reporting more than 7,000 visitors on Saturdays.
Ham admitted to Grant County News that 2020 was a difficult time for his organization even after the readers of USA Today named the Ark Encounter as the best religious museum in the country. But now, things have turned around.
"The state-mandated closing of tourist attractions for three months in 2020 was a very difficult time for us – and for the local B&Bs, hotels, restaurants, and others that have come to rely so much on the enormous number of Ark visitors coming to Grant County," Ham explained. " But now, as the pandemic is getting behind us, we're seeing many more people willing to travel. Attendance right now is equal to our excellent 2019 numbers, which was our best year – and on many recent days, attendance has actually exceeded them."
"Our research shows that over 92% of those who visit our attractions are coming from outside Kentucky," Ham continued. "These guests of ours are bringing dollars that would not normally be spent in this state. What an opportunity for local businesses to capitalize on this phenomenon.
As CBN News has reported, more than a million people a year have flocked to northern Kentucky's Ark Encounter in Williamstown since it opened in 2016. Constructed according to the dimensions given in the Bible, the Ark contains three decks of exhibits.
The Creation Museum in Petersburg, Kentucky (45 minutes away), receives more than 500,000 guests each year.
The Ark Encounter is located south of Cincinnati in Williamstown, Kentucky, right off I-75, with a full-size Noah's ark as its centerpiece. The Creation Museum is west of the Cincinnati Airport.
Current hours for the Ark and the Creation Museum are Sunday: 1:00 pm to 7:00 pm and Monday to Saturday: 9:00 am to 8:00 pm.
