1. Seeing it will blow your mind! Driving up to a bigger than life, yet biblically correct 510’ x 85’ x 51’ ark, is simply awe inspiring. You’ve read the story, and you’ve seen the cute nursery pictures with animals heads poking out, but you’ve never seen anything like this! The Ark Encounter is a full-size replica of Noah’s Ark located in the hills of Kentucky south of Cincinnati.
2. It’s a true memory maker. Frankly, we were surprised at how much our kids loved the Ark Encounter. . They mention it far more than our previous trips to traditional theme parks. If you ask them which vacation they want to do again, the answer is always the same, “Let’s go back to the ark!”
3. It’s educational. The Ark itself is three stories high, and each level is packed with interesting and beautiful displays. On deck 1 you’ll meet Noah’s family and gain an understanding of the creatures (animal kinds) brought on board. Deck 2 is fascinating as you learn about the technology of that time and how Noah’s family could have pulled off the feat God assigned them. On the upper deck you’ll see a depiction of what the living quarters for Noah’s family may have looked like, learn about the flood’s impact on our world, and why we can trust the Bible to be telling us the truth.
4. It’s inspirational and brings faith to life. If you’ve ever asked yourself, “Can the story of Noah and the ark actually be true?”, you’ll get thought provoking answers at the Ark Encounter.
5. It’s fun. Our kids were young when we went, so we couldn’t just indulge our adult love of history and bible study on this visit without frequent breaks. Fortunately, the Ark Encounter is extremely family friendly. There’s a great playground outside, a zoo, camel rides, a VR experience, other hands on activities and friendly staff everywhere to point you in the right direction.
6. It sparks the imagination! The Ark Encounter sparks the imagination and brings the Bible to life all at the same time. If you’re looking for a way to infuse a biblical worldview into your family’s perspective on history and science, then this is the tool to help them in a powerful way.
7. The pictures you take at the Ark Encounter will spark many future conversations. I’m thinking about the picture we all took standing at the giant door that depicts how the animals would have left the ark. The artistic addition of a cross illuminated on the door stopped me in my tracks. So many aspects of the Old Testament story of the ark have parallels to the New Testament story of our salvation through faith in Jesus. The pictures you take at the Ark Encounter can help you bring spiritual understanding to your children as they mature.
Some tips:
- All ages and abilities can enjoy a day here with some advance planning. I would suggest finding out their slowest times if members of your family have difficulty with crowds. We were there on a busy day (although not packed) and a very slow day. The very slow day was much more enjoyable.
- The weather outside was also very nice on the days we went, and since we were going in and out frequently to keep the kiddos engaged, it was great that the weather cooperated.
- For kiddo's with sensory sensitivities, we encourage you to bring headphones for areas that have sound effects. We also had our flashlight available in some of the spots where it is darker.
A note about tickets: By encouraging you to consider the Ark Encounter for a family vacation we don’t want to imply that it’s a cheap vacation. It’s not cheap, but we didn’t feel it was over priced either. It’s an extremely high quality destination theme park, and as you know, quality has a price tag. Children ten and under are free, which is a bonus, but check out the website to get all the price options available.
Be sure to check out our podcast episode 123 where we share more about this awesome vacation and how it actually was a completely therapeutic experience for us all.
For more information visit www.thearkencounter.com