Ark Encounter, Williamstown, Kentucky, USA
The centerpiece of the park is a full-scale model of Noah’s Ark from the Genesis flood narrative in the Bible which is 510 feet long, 85 feet wide, and 51 feet high. It is one of only three full-size Noah’s Ark replicas and derivatives in the world, and the largest of the three.
Ark Encounter is a Christian fundamentalist theme park that opened in Grant County, Kentucky on July 7, 2016. Ark Encounter is operated by Answers in Genesis (AiG), a Young Earth creationism group that operates the Creation Museum 45 miles away in Petersburg, Kentucky.
After independent feasibility studies projected that the park would provide a boon to the state’s tourism industry, the Ark Encounter received tax incentives from the city, county, and state to induce its construction. This drew criticism from groups concerned with the separation of church and state. A dispute over AiG’s hiring practices was adjudicated in U.S. federal court, which found in 2016 that the organisation could require Ark Encounter employees to sign a statement of faith as a condition of their employment, prompting criticism of the park’s discriminatory hiring practices.
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