Wednesday, March 17, 2021

The Ark Encounter - Inside the Ark

This week's travel post is part of a travel series of our visit to see our grandchildren in Carmel, Indiana.  If you want to start at the beginning, go HERE. Other posts in chronological order are HERE,  HEREHEREHERE, and HERE!

Have you ever read a Bible story and wondered what it would have been like to see that in person?  For me, I would have loved to have seen Moses part the Red Sea, or David slew the giant Goliath, to name just a few.  Well, thanks to some very creative people you can now experience one Bible story yourself:  Noah's Ark!

The Ark Encounter is full size ark built according to the dimensions and description in the Bible.  You can read more about its construction in last week's travel post, plus see pictures of the exterior of the ark and the park grounds.  This week, we are going to explore the INSIDE of the ark!  

Below is my husband and I standing in front of the doors of the ark where Noah would have let all the animals in.  They are massive, aren't they?


The ark is divided into three levels.  The first level is mostly storage and small animals/reptiles.  When you enter the ark, you hear lots of sound effects of wind, waves hitting the side of the boat, storm sounds, and lots of animal sounds.

In the storage exhibits they explain all the things Noah would have had to brought onto the ark to feed his family and all the animals and how they stored them.  


There are many life-like displays of Noah and his family through out the ark, some are animontronic. 


Here is another example of storage.  One thing that amazed me was how they utilized every nook and cranny for storage.


The Ark Encounter showed how animals were probably kept on the ark and also how large animals fit on the ark.  Larger creatures like dinosaurs or elephants were brought in as babies or perhaps even as unhatched eggs.


Here we see how the animals were fed.


Perhaps the most fascinating thing about being inside the ark is the construction itself.  This is a view from the first floor looking straight up to the top of the ark.


You travel from one floor to another via these long ramps;  very stroller and wheel chair friendly!


Like the Creation Museum, there are many displays explaining Bible history and what was going on in Noah's time period that God would be so angry to cause a world wide flood.


The next two pictures are actually miniature window displays.  Once again, they are "possible" scenes of what the world would have been like before the flood.



My favorite exhibits were the ones of Noah and his family.  You get to imagine what life might have been like for Noah and his family on the ark.


The next two pictures show a "blacksmith shop".  I imagine things were constantly in need of repair on such a busy ark.



This is the view from the top floor looking straight down.


Here's some examples of some creative storage:  where every nook and cranny on the ark is utilized.



Now, the Ark Encounter does everything it can to make sure its attraction is historically accurate according to the Bible.  But the Bible doesn't tell us everything so many artistic liberties were taken or "imagined" by creation scientists/archeologists of how Noah, his family, and all the animals would have survived so long inside the ark.  Below are some pictures of their possible living quarters.



My favorite part of their living quarters was the kitchen.  I'd love to have this kitchen now!  It showed not only how they stored everything and cooked, but also how they grew their own vegetables on the ark.





This exhibit shows Noah releasing the dove to look for land.


I loved every second of our tour inside the ark.  There is no time limit, you can spend as much time as you want strolling about.  There are many different other exhibits inside the ark that I didn't even show pictures of because I don't have space in one post!  Some other exhibits are:

  •  "Why the Bible Is True" where you walk the pages of a graphic novel and explore the many objections of why people do not trust God's Word.  
  • "Kids Spooky Animal Encounters".  This is a fun, but scary, exhibit for kids.  It's a hands-on learning experience about all the creepy-crawly things that might have been on the ark.
  • "Fairy Tale Ark".  This shows all the children's books and toy arks that have been created with a caution to parents that the Biblical story of Noah's ark  isn't a story about cute little animals, rather it is a story of God's judgement on a wicked world.
  • "Rainbow Covenant" This exhibit features an artistic description of the covenant God made to never flood the earth again.
  • "World Flood Myths" There are over 200 mythical stories of world wide floods, which Biblical scholars say is proof that a real flood actually happened.
  • "What Happened After Noah Left The Ark?"  How was the landscape changes?  How did Noah and his family repopulate the earth?  What did they eat...these are some of the questions answered in this exhibit
After we finished touring everything inside of the ark, we headed over to the Answer Center to hear a Southern Gospel Concert and Ken Ham speak.  The concert was such a fun experience and the singers were very good.  It was so fun and spiritually refreshing.

We have listened to Ken Ham speak on tv for years, but to see him in person was a real thrill.  His presentation was amazing!  Neither the concert nor the special presentation cost any extra money.  It was included with the price of admission.

Here is a short video to give you a taste of what the concert is like.


And here is Ken Ham, the inspiration behind both the Creation Museum and the Ark Encounter, speaking himself.

An adult Ark Encounter ticket costs $49.95 and there are discounts for seniors, youth, and kids.  Children under four are FREE!

Have A Great Day!  Amy

Linking Up with these Fabulous Blogs HERE!

20 comments:

  1. That is so neat. My youngest son was just questioning how they would have been able to fit and feed two of every animal so this post (and your previous post!) came in quite handy.

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    1. You know, I didn't know that either, but it makes perfect sense doesn't it?

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  2. So very interesting. Thanks for sharing it with us.

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  3. The kitchen does look so impressive! They did an amazing job creating this museum!

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    1. It really is an experience to behold, and it's not to far of a drive for you, you should go sometime!

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  4. Gosh, what a fabulous place to visit Amy. I know I said it before, but it's amazing. I never thought about the logistics before, but I can how so much was covered in the museum.
    XOOX
    Jodie
    www.jtouchofstyle.com

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  5. I have heard so much about the Ark Encounter. I look forward to seeing it one day soon.

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  6. Wow! This looks amazing! Thank you for sharing your experience via words and pictures. It looks like it was an impactful trip for you and your family.

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    1. It is amazing. You're welcome! It definitely encourages you in your faith.

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  7. Wow! Thanks for sharing this wonderful experience with us! This answers questions that I didn't know I had. What a great exhibit.

    Thank you for being a part of 'My Corner of the World' this week!

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    1. You're welcome, I'm glad I could answer some questions for you.

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  8. Oh, Amy! What a treasured memory and experience. I shared this with my husband and we would truly like to go one day.

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