Visting the Ark Encounter in Williamsburg, KY

How big was Noah's Ark?

We'll never really know.

However, the Ark Encounter in WIlliamsburg, KY offers us a chance to stop and visualize what the this event may have looked like.

Due to the nature of the site, this post is going to explain this from a teaching perspective, versus a religious one.  Noah's Ark is a story within the Bible, which requires the reading skill of visualization.  Without context, we insert our understanding of what something could look like, without realizing the history and background of the time period in which a piece of writing was written.

From a literary standpoint, the story of the Ark lies in the hero, Noah.  Noah was told of a great flood that was to cover the earth.  He was asked to build an ark, and bring all animals, in pairs of two, into it.  Then he, his family, and the animals ride out the flood that covers the earth until it recedes.

There are countless books that have been written.  Children's books illustrated with pictures of animals in a boat, flooded waters, and the finding of an olive branch at the end.  It's one of those feel good, aww look what happened stories.

The Ark allows you to step into the story.  All of a sudden, things that you never would have thought of in a child's story comes to life.  The building of the Ark is explained in a 30 minute presentation, which details architecture and history references to building large scale wooden structures.  Hat's off to the Amish, who still work in woodworking and design, and contributed to this interactive theme park of Biblical proportions!

Cage designs, water usage, sunlight.  There were answers to questions you may not have even bothered to consider.  With answers based in engineering design with resources far more limited than today's world.  There was only one way to describe it:

​This is so cool.

Yes, there is religion.  The Old Testament actually spans most religions to date, which is another interesting piece to the Ark Adventure.  Many faith's share the same story, and come for the same reason.  The Ark provides a the opportunity to bring a variety of people together, creating a shared experience with different viewpoints.

Not to mention it has to be the cleanest and kindest theme park we've ever been too.  

The park also has a zoo, zip-lining, camel riding, multiple shows throughout the day, and a 4D experience show.  The Ark itself is four different levels and takes a minimum of two hours to walk through, and that's if you walk fast and miss most of the experiences.  We spent three hours in the Ark itself, and it went remarkably fast.

Other information:
We stayed in Dry Ridge, KY, about 12 minutes north of the Ark.
You do want to get there early.  It does get busy.
Try to buy food slightly ahead of the lunch crowds.  The lines do get long.  (But everyone happened to be really polite!  Even in line.)
Take a power source for your phone!  

The Ark provides a combination pass to the Creation Museum. 
The Traveling Textbook does not make a recommendation for the Creation Museum.  The Ark is a Christian based-theme park providing the opportunity to explore and visually step into a story that has been passed down by many different cultures in a variety of ways.  
The Creation Museum is up to travelers' discretion based on their own beliefs and how those align with the Creation Museum.  Please research on your own.

Head to Cuyahoga National Park next!