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Wikipedia

Ark Encounter

August 23, 2023

Ark Encounter is a Christian young Earth creationist (YEC) theme park that opened in Williamstown, Kentucky, United States in 2016.[2][3] The centerpiece of the park is a large representation of Noah's Ark, based on the Genesis flood narrative contained in the Bible. It is 510 feet (155.4 m) long, 85 feet (25.9 m) wide, and 51 feet (15.5 m) high.

Ark Encounter
Noah's Ark at Ark Encounter (2021)
LocationWilliamstown, Kentucky, United States
Coordinates38°37′20″N 84°35′32″W / 38.6222°N 84.5923°W / 38.6222; -84.5923
StatusOperating
OpenedJuly 7, 2016 (2016-07-07)
OwnerArk Encounter, LLC
Operated byAnswers in Genesis
ThemeNoah's Ark
Slogan"It's bigger than imagination"[1]
Operating seasonYear-round
Attendance862,471 – 1 million (July 2017–June 2018)
Websitearkencounter.com

Ark Encounter is operated by Answers in Genesis (AiG), a YEC organization that also operates the Creation Museum 45 miles (70 km) away in Petersburg, Kentucky.[2] Australian Ken Ham, creationist and CEO of AiG, founded the park.[4] The theme park promotes pseudoscientific young Earth creationist beliefs about the age of the universe, age of the Earth, and co-existence of humans and non-avian dinosaurs.[3][5][6][7]

After feasibility studies projected that the park would be a boon to the state's tourism industry, 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.[8] A dispute over AiG's hiring practices was adjudicated in U.S. federal court, which found in 2016 that the organization 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.[2]

Visitor experience

The ark contains 132 bays, each standing about 18 feet (5.5 m) high, arranged into three decks.[9][10] Visitors enter on the lowest deck and move between decks on ramps constructed through the center of the ark.[11] Bays on the first deck contain models of some animals that AiG believes could have been on the ark; there are no live animals within the exhibit,[12][13] though there is a petting zoo on the grounds.[2][14][15] The models are meant to represent "kinds" of animals, which AiG says gave rise to modern animals after the flood.[16] Prior to the Ark's opening, media outlets reported it would feature models of dinosaurs and "Biblical unicorns".[13][17]

 
Deck 2, A live animal exhibit alternates between llamas, alpacas and donkeys from day to day.

The second deck contains more animal models, along with dioramas of Noah's workshop and a blacksmith.[12] Bays on the third deck contain displays presenting what AiG believes might have happened inside and outside the ark during the flood.[12] Displays in three of the bays include artifacts from the Green Collection and promote the Museum of the Bible, a Washington, D.C. attraction constructed by the Green family, who donated to the Ark Encounter's construction.[18]

RoadsideAmerica.com rated the displays depicting the sinful state of the world before the flood, including a priest sacrificing an infant to an unnamed snake god and people fighting a giant and a dinosaur in a gladiatorial arena, as among the most memorable exhibits in the attraction.[19] Visiting scientists find the juxtaposition of humans and dinosaurs not only ridiculous, but also harmful to young guests. In an interview discussing her tour of the Ark Encounter, Bailey Harris states that, while she was impressed with the size of the attraction, she found it “all much sillier than I expected. The dinosaurs that are everywhere in displays with humans, like in the Flintstones, gets old really fast...The antiscience represented along with this magnificence is so dangerous to children...It is designed to overwhelm children with its size and beauty to then present untruths from beginning to end.”[20]

The ark is held 15 feet (4.6 m) off the ground by a series of concrete towers. The starboard side of the hull merges into three 80-foot (24 m) masonry towers containing stairwells, elevators, and restrooms.[9]

Besides the Ark Encounter itself, there are a handful of other attractions within the theme park, including Emzara's Kitchen, a two-story, buffet-style restaurant with a capacity of 1,500 guests, making it one of the largest restaurants in the world.[21][22] Also featured are ziplining, a virtual reality theater, and the Ararat Ridge zoo, which features a petting zoo and a variety of wild animals such as kangaroos and camels.[23]

History

 
A scale model of the Ark on deck 1.

Planning

On December 1, 2010, the young Earth creationism group Answers in Genesis (AiG) and the for-profit corporation Ark Encounter, LLC announced that they would partner to build a theme park called Ark Encounter that, as they claimed, would "lend credence to the biblical account of a catastrophic flood and to dispel doubts that Noah could have fit two of every kind of animal onto a 500-foot-long ark".[24] The partners projected that the fully completed park would cost $150 million, which they intended to raise privately.[25]

Under a program enacted by the Kentucky General Assembly in 2010, Ark Encounter investors applied for Economic Development Incentives that would allow them to recoup 25 percent of the project's construction costs by keeping a portion of the park's sales taxes during its first ten years of operation.[26] Receipt of the incentives would be contingent upon Ark Encounter meeting established performance goals upon opening.[27] A press release from Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear's office cited a feasibility study commissioned by Ark Encounter, LLC and conducted by consumer research corporation America's Research Group Limited, Inc.[27]

The company had also conducted the feasibility study for AiG's Ark Encounter and an attitudinal survey included in Ken Ham's book Already Gone; ARC founder C. Britt Beemer was credited as a co-author of the book.[27] This projected the park could employ 900 people, attract as many as 1.6 million visitors in its first year of operation, and generate a $214 million economic impact for the region.[24][27] The group selected an 800-acre (320 ha) parcel near Interstate 75 in Grant County, Kentucky, near the city of Williamstown and about 45 miles (70 km) from AiG's Creation Museum in Petersburg, Kentucky.[28]

The city of Williamstown designated a 1.25-mile (2.01 km) radius around the Ark Encounter site as a tax increment financing district, meaning 75 percent of sales and property taxes collected in the district would return to Ark Encounter for a period of 30 years.[29] Employees working in the district would also pay a 2 percent employment tax over the same time frame that would go to the Ark Encounter.[29]

The Grant County Industrial Development Authority paid Ark Encounter, LLC $195,000 to compensate the corporation for the fact that word of their interest in building the attraction in Grant County had leaked early, causing land prices to double in the area.[30] Further, the Grant County Fiscal Court discounted the sale price of 100 acres (40 ha) of the site to influence the final selection.[30]

Citing the proffered incentives, Ark Encounter, LLC made the Grant County site their final selection and scheduled groundbreaking for August 2011.[31] Plans for additional phases of the park include a model of the Tower of Babel, along with replicas of an ancient walled city and a first-century Middle Eastern village.[32][33]

Purchase of site

 
A view down middle open area.

Ark Encounter, LLC finalized the purchase of the entire Ark Encounter site in February 2012.[34] At that time, AiG announced the decision to construct the park in phases, saying it had raised only $5 million[35] of the $24 million[36] needed to begin construction. The first phase included a full-scale model of Noah's Ark and a petting zoo.[37] Plans for five subsequent phases included replicas of an ancient walled city, a first-century Middle Eastern village, and the Tower of Babel; an aviary; and a 500-seat special effects theater.[33][37][38]

 
Ken Ham, the founder of Answers in Genesis, the group behind Ark Encounter

In December 2013, the city of Williamstown offered $62 million using tax increment financing of bonds to jump-start construction on the Ark Encounter.[39] The unrated bonds were backed by the Ark Encounter's projected future revenues, but the city was not liable for repaying them in the event that the revenues did not materialize.[39] At the time of the offering, Ark Encounter, LLC had raised approximately $14 million toward construction of the park.[39]

A group of atheist objectors to the Ark Encounter attempted to disrupt the offering by registering for the sale themselves and conducting a public relations campaign against the bonds.[18] In early January 2014, only $26.5 million in bonds had been sold; if at least $55 million in bonds were not sold by February 6, all of the bonds would be automatically redeemed.[40]

On February 27, 2014, AiG founder Ken Ham announced that his February 4 debate on the viability of creationism with TV personality Bill Nye "the Science Guy" had spurred bond sales, and that the Ark Encounter had raised enough money to begin construction.[41] AiG officials said the final cost of the park at its opening exceeded $100 million, including $62 million from the Williamstown bond offering and $36 million from individual donations.[2] The second phase of the park construction was projected to commence in 2018 or 2019.[38]

The 2014 Kentucky General Assembly allocated $1.15 million to Grant County for road improvements to accommodate the heavier traffic expected to be generated by the Ark Encounter.[42] The Assembly also projected the need for $9.1 million in 2017 to improve the Interstate 75 interchange at Williamstown, but this allocation was beyond the scope of the state's two-year road funding plan.[42] The 2016 General Assembly allocated $10 million to create a new interchange between Kentucky Route 36 (KY 36) and Interstate 75.[43]

Until the improvements are completed, AiG is paying for workers to direct traffic on KY 36 near the Ark Encounter.[43] After the initial allocation by the state, AiG invested $500,000 of its own money into improving KY 36; this, and better-than-expected traffic flow, led to the Kentucky Department of Transportation scaling back the proposed improvements, awarding a $3.5 million contract in December 2017.[44] The project was projected to be completed November 2, 2018.[44]

In July 2014, with the approved tax incentives set to expire if work on the park had not begun, Ark Encounter withdrew the approved application and filed a new one to receive incentives on the $73 million first phase.[45] The new application required a new feasibility study to be conducted.[46] AiG paid for the study, again conducted by Hunden Strategic Partners, which projected a more conservative 400,000 visitors a year, 787 new jobs, and a $40 million economic impact.[46]

Shortly after the application was given preliminary approval by the Kentucky Tourism Development Finance Authority, Kentucky House Speaker Greg Stumbo said he believed the incentives to be unconstitutional. He added that he expected the state to be sued and lose a costly lawsuit over the issue.[47]

Design and construction

 
A view from near the bow of the Ark Encounter with visitors to show scale.

Cary Summers, who headed Herschend Family Entertainment from 1992 to 1998, was hired as the lead consultant for the Ark Encounter.[26] Patrick Marsh, who helped design exhibits for the Creation Museum and previously designed attractions for Universal Studios Florida, was part of the planning and design team.[48] The Troyer Group, a construction firm in Mishawaka, Indiana, was contracted to oversee construction of the ark, which was constructed by Amish builders using traditional timber framing techniques.[28][49] In total, over 1,000 craftsmen were employed in the ark's construction.[50] As possible, board pulling was used rather than steaming. Steel nails were used to conform with building code regulations.[1]

 
Lighting at the Ark Encounter is designed to resemble oil lamps.

While the builders originally planned to hold the ark together with wooden pegs, modern building codes required the builders to use steel fasteners, thus 95 tons of metal plates and bolts were used to connect the wood together.[51] The electric lighting inside was designed to look like oil lamps.[9] According to AiG, the Ark Encounter is the largest timber frame structure in the United States.[2]

AiG considered twelve different possible lengths for the biblical cubit, and AiG chose to use a length of 20.1 inches (51 cm); this produced plans for an ark measuring 510 feet (155 m) long, 85 feet (26 m) wide, and 51 feet (16 m) high.[52] The Ark Encounter consists of approximately 3,300,000 board feet (7,800 m3) of wood.[1] The framing of the ark consists mostly of Engelmann spruce, while the exterior is made of pine; some of the logs were as long as 50 feet (15 m) long and 36 inches (91 cm) in diameter.[53]

The park's structures and infrastructure were constructed using environmentally friendly Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certified methods, including geothermal heating, rainwater capture, active and passive solar heating.[54] The Washington Post wrote that the decision to use such techniques was exemplary of "a fundamental shift in how religiously conservative Christians think of two basic biblical ideas: dominion and stewardship".[54] Hydroponic gardens produce lettuce to feed the animals housed at the attraction's petting zoo, as well as the landscape plants for the Ark Encounter and Creation Museum.[55]

Construction crews began clearing timber from the site late in 2012 in order to remove the shagbark hickory trees before the endangered Indiana bats migrated to the area to nest in them.[56] Much of the wood used to build the Ark Encounter was sourced from renewable forests or trees infested by beetles.[57] During construction, former President Jimmy Carter toured the Ark Encounter, accepting an invitation from LeRoy Troyer, president of the Troyer Group.[58]

Opening

Ark Encounter opened on July 7, 2016, a date (7/7) chosen to correspond with Genesis 7:7: "And Noah and his sons and his wife and his sons' wives entered the ark to escape the waters of the flood."[59] AiG also announced that, for the first 40 days and 40 nights of Ark Encounter's operation – an allusion to the inundation period (rain and subterranean hydrological eruptions) of the biblical flood – it would extend its hours of operation, offering day and evening tickets.[60] On July 5, AiG held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Ark Encounter, during which members of the media and an estimated 7,000 donors to the project were given an early tour of the ark.[61] According to the park's publicists, there were 30,000 visitors in its first six days of operation (an average of 5,000 per day).[62]

 
A monument erected by the AiG board of directors just prior to Ark Encounter's opening, with signage referencing a similar monument from Joshua 4

Tri-State Freethinkers planned to protest the Ark Encounter's opening with a nearby billboard depicting people drowning around Noah's Ark with the caption "Genocide and Incest Park: Celebrating 2,000 years of myths", but billboard companies Lamar Advertising Company and Event Advertising and Promotions LLC rejected the design.[63] The Courier-Journal reported that approximately 150 opponents of the Ark Encounter gathered near the highway exit to protest the park on its opening day.[14] Eric Hovind of Creation Today led a counter-protest during which he offered to pay for any of the ark protesters to tour the ark; the Northern Kentucky Tribune reported that 21 anti-ark protesters accepted Hovind's offer.[64]

The next day, popular science communicator Bill Nye accepted Ken Ham's invitation to tour the Ark Encounter,[65] and they had an informal debate as they toured the structure.[66] Nye stated, "It's all very troubling. You have hundreds of school kids there who have already been indoctrinated and who have been brainwashed. (...) This is about the absolutely wrong idea that the Earth is 6,000 years old that's alarming to me." Earlier in the debate, Ham stated, "My biggest concern is you're teaching generations of young people that they're just animals."[6][67] Footage from Nye's visit was subsequently included in the documentary film Bill Nye: Science Guy, which was released in 2017.[68]

The Freedom From Religion Foundation, an organization that advocates for the separation of church and state, sent letters to over 1,000 public school districts in Kentucky, Tennessee, Ohio, Indiana and West Virginia warning them not to organize field trips to the Ark Encounter, arguing that such trips would "expose children to religious proselytizing in violation of the constitutional separation of church and state."[69][70]

Grant County, Kentucky Education Commissioner Stephen Pruitt responded that approval of field trips is a decision of local school boards but that such trips should be directly related to curriculum. He said it is not appropriate for "outside third parties to dictate field trip selections."[71] Contending that FFRF was incorrect in their assertion, Ham posted on his blog that he would encourage public school groups to visit the ark by offering admission of $1 per child and no charge for accompanying teachers for the remainder of 2016.[72]

Subsequent events

 
The Ark Encounter at night, December 2021

The Tri-State Freethinkers has protested annually at the Ark Encounter on the anniversary of its opening, citing its hiring practices, anti-evolution teachings, and acceptance of state tax incentives as causes for protestors' concerns.[73] Local media coverage estimated the size of the 2018 protest to be between 120 and 200 people.[73]

In December 2016, for the holiday season, AiG lit the Ark with rainbow colors, the purpose being to "reclaim the symbol from the gay rights movement" and remind viewers of the Noahic covenant.[74] In February 2017, Ken Ham announced AiG would permanently continue the rainbow lighting.[75] Permanent lights were installed in July 2017.[76][77] AiG also plans to open a "Rainbow Garden" near the petting zoo where flowers create a rainbow display.[78]

In November 2017, construction began on a 2,500-seat theater on the park's grounds. The theater was originally projected to be completed in time to host the "Equipping Families to Stand" conference, scheduled for July 18, 2018, but construction has been delayed, and the building was subsequently projected to open before the end of 2018.[78][79] AiG also announced a new children's play area scheduled to open in spring 2019 and an expansion to the petting zoo, projected to open by mid-2019.[78]

The Ark Encounter's dispute with the FFRF that began upon the former's opening continued, with the latter sending letters to 1,000 school districts surrounding the attraction after AiG offered free admission to school trips.[80][81]

In May 2019, Ark Encounter filed a federal lawsuit against its five insurance carriers for not covering nearly $1 million in damages from roadway failure subsequent to rain.[82] According to the lawsuit, an access road was damaged by heavy rains in 2017 and 2018, which caused a landslide. Insurance companies cited an exclusion for correcting design deficiencies or faulty workmanship. The suit asked for compensatory and punitive damages.[82][83] The ark itself was not damaged in the incident, and the attraction remained open to visitors.[83][84] The insurance company, Allied World, applied to separate the "breach-of-contract" claims from the "bad-faith claims" but the court rejected the request. The case was settled in August 2020 when lawyers for both sides requested that the case be dismissed. Settlement details were not made public.[85]

Pursuant to an executive order from Kentucky governor Andy Beshear closing all non-essential businesses in the state, Ark Encounter was temporarily closed on March 17, 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic.[86] During the closure, AiG staff conducted events on Facebook Live, but no visitors were allowed in the park, and many of its staff members were temporarily laid off.[86][87] After Beshear lit the governor's mansion with green lights as a show of solidarity and compassion for the victims of COVID-19, AiG lit the Ark Encounter green as well.[86] Upon reopening on June 8, AiG limited the number of visitors allowed in the park to one-third of its capacity to facilitate social distancing and observed other sanitation guidelines recommended by the Commonwealth of Kentucky.[87][88][89]

In August 2020, Ark Encounter officials announced it would host a Christian music festival the following year that would last "40 days and 40 nights."[90][91] Also in August 2020, Ark Encounter opened a new $3 million virtual reality experience called the "Truth Traveler".[92]

In July 2021, Ark Encounter announced expansion plans. These plans included a Tower of Babel attraction, an indoor scale model of what Jerusalem may have looked like during the time of Jesus, and a themed carousel.[93][94][95] According to Ham, the Tower of Babel attraction is intended to confront racism by showing that humanity is descended from a common ancestor (monogenism).[96]

In the media

 
View of the Ark Encounter from the exterior ground level, October 2016

On October 22, 2016, the Ark Encounter hosted the premiere of evangelist Ray Comfort's film The Atheist Delusion.[97][98]

Ozzy Osbourne and his son, Jack, visited the Ark Encounter in April 2017 to film an episode of their reality television series Ozzy & Jack's World Detour.[99] The episode, entitled "Kentucky Fried Osbournes", aired on A&E on November 29, 2017.[99]

Ark Encounter was designated the "Sight of the Week" for January 1–7, 2018, by Doug Kirby's RoadsideAmerica.com.[19] The site gave Ark Encounter its highest rating ("The Best"), noting, "the Ark is an attraction that should be visited -- if only because it's unlikely that you'll ever visit anything else like it."[19] The review characterized the ark as "a very nuts-and-bolts American Ark, with Noah and his clan in the mold of self-sufficient Pilgrims and innovative pioneers" (emphasis in original).[19]

On February 17, 2020, PBS aired a documentary about the Ark Encounter entitled We Believe in Dinosaurs. The filmmakers stated that their intention was to produce "a non-judgmental look at the Ark Encounter and its history", but upon release, Ken Ham called the film "an agenda-driven propaganda piece that does not rise to the level of a real documentary".[100] Filmmakers Monica Long Ross and Clayton Brown followed the storyline of a "religious organization creating their own alternative science in a legitimate looking museum."[101]

The Ark Encounter was chosen as the Best Religious Museum in the 2020 USA Today/10Best.com Readers Choice Awards. Its sister attraction, the Creation Museum, was ranked second.[102][103][104] Polling for the award was halted during the COVID-19 pandemic, but resumed in 2023, when the Ark Encounter and Creation Museum were again voted first and second, respectively, in the Best Religious Museum category.[105]

Attendance

AiG initially predicted yearly attendance for the attraction of 1.4–2.2 million people. After a year of operation, AiG reported attendance of about 1 million, attributing the lower number to opening in the middle of tourist season.[106][107][108]

On February 24, 2017, Executive Director of the Grant County Chamber of Commerce Jamie Baker stated that the Ark had drawn additional tourism to the area, and that the challenge now was to expand accommodation and other local amenities in order to convert this into economic growth for the county.[109] In March, the Northern Kentucky Convention and Visitors Bureau presented the Ark Encounter with its Star of Tourism award for 2016.[110]

Bureau President Eric Summe reported a $23 million increase in visitor spending in nearby Boone, Kenton, and Campbell counties in 2016 over 2015, the year that the region hosted the Major League Baseball All-Star Game; Summe attributed a large part of the increase in spending and hotel occupancy to the opening of the Ark Encounter and an expansion of its sister attraction, AiG's Creation Museum.[111] In June 2017, Mayor Jim Wells of Dry Ridge, Kentucky stated that the Ark Encounter had a positive effect on the town, with hotel occupancy rates increasing from 60 to 98 percent since the opening of the attraction.[112]

In July 2018, Nashville-based Athena Hospitality Group broke ground on a hotel and restaurant development in Dry Ridge, citing the need for more accommodations for Ark Encounter visitors as the motivation.[113] The planned development will accommodate three hotels and three restaurants, with the first hotel, an 80-room Comfort Suites projected to open in the third quarter of 2019.[113]

At the end of Ark Encounter's second year, July 2017 to June 2018, AiG reported an attendance of 1 million visitors for the year. County tax revenue (called "safety assessment") from paid ticket sales reflected approximately 860,000 paid admissions. The balance were young children and people with long-term passes, who did not require paid ticket entry.[114][115] Because the city of Williamstown based their annual budget on AiG's attendance projections, the city was forced to readjust its budget downward when the number of paying guests fell short of 1 million.[116]

In 2020, Williamstown Mayor Rick Skinner noted that Ark attendance had been averaging about ten percent higher than the city had forecast until its temporary closure due to COVID-19.[87] At the end of the fiscal year, revenue from the safety assessment fell twenty percent short of projections.[87]

In 2021, Ark Encounter returned to its 2019 attendance numbers and set record attendance numbers for certain days during the summer. Local businesses were booming as a result of increased tourism to Ark Encounter and Creation Museum.[93] In April 2021, the Ark Encounter and Creation Museum were preparing to welcome their 10 millionth visitor altogether.[117]

Tax incentives controversies

Organizations dedicated to supporting the separation of church and state were divided on the question of providing tax incentives for the Ark Encounter. Barry W. Lynn of Americans United for Separation of Church and State opined that "The government should not be giving tax incentives for religious projects. Religion should be supported by voluntary donations, not the government."[24] Bill Sharp, the staff attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky, replied that "Courts have found that giving such tax exemptions on a nondiscriminatory basis does not violate the establishment clause, even when the tax exemption goes to a religious purpose."[24]

Edwin Kagin of American Atheists brought up the difficulty of litigating against the incentives provided by state laws, saying, "The legislation is so drafted that they will give this incentive to any organization that is going to increase tourism in Kentucky, and there's no question whatsoever that this group will."[48] The editorial board of the Lexington Herald-Leader wrote that "Ark Encounters [sic] is a private company seeking to make a profit off of a biblical theme. As such, it seems as entitled to apply for incentives from promised profits as any other private, for-profit company in Kentucky."[118] Still, the board was critical of using the incentives to attract low-paying jobs and to facilitate construction of an attraction it characterized as hostile "to science, knowledge and education", which could be off-putting to "the kind of employers that will provide good-paying jobs with a future".[118]

Governor Beshear[which?] favored the incentives, stating "The people of Kentucky didn't elect me governor to debate religion. They elected me governor to create jobs," Beshear said, adding, "There's nothing even remotely unconstitutional about a for-profit organization coming in and investing $150 million to create jobs in Kentucky and bring tourism to Kentucky."[24] Responding to an open records request by the Lexington Herald-Leader, Beshear's office later admitted it had not seen the feasibility study cited in its press release, and an administration representative said that the state tourism department would have to conduct its own study in order for the park to be eligible for the incentives.[27]

The state-commissioned study by Hunden Strategic Partners and paid for by Ark Encounter, LLC, projected that the park would draw nearly 1.4 million visitors a year, but could require the state to widen the Interstate 75 interchange at Williamstown, at an additional cost to the state of about $11 million.[31][119] In an editorial in late December 2010, The Courier-Journal questioned the potential cost to the state government of the project, including highway upgrades and the likelihood that increases to hospitality industry infrastructure would seek further subsidies.[120] In May 2011, the Kentucky Tourism Development Finance Authority voted unanimously to grant incentives of up to $43.1 million to Ark Encounter, LLC. for the project, by then projected to cost $172 million.[31][119]

In June 2017, Grant County Judge Executive Stephen P. Wood told the Lexington Herald-Leader that the tax incentives offered to the Ark Encounter were "a really bad deal for taxpayers".[121] Although the valuation of the property within Ark Encounter's tax increment financing district increased from $1.3 million in 2011 to $55 million in 2017, under the terms of its deal with Ark Encounter, the county only retained $63,000 of the $250,000 in property taxes collected within the district, with the rest returning to the park.[121] School taxes were exempted from the deal, and Grant County Schools saw a 58% increase in property tax revenue from 2016 to 2017.[121]

In April 2017, the city of Williamstown implemented a "safety assessment" of 50 cents per ticket sold at the Ark Encounter, the Williamstown Family Fun Park, and Main Street Gardens to upgrade the city's emergency equipment to sufficiently serve the attractions.[122] AiG maintained that, as the largest of the three attractions, the assessment placed an undue share of the cost on Ark Encounter.[123] After Williamstown officials rejected AiG's request to cap its share of the cost, first at $350,000 and later at $500,000, Ark Encounter LLC sold the main parcel of land for the attraction to its non-profit affiliate, Crosswater Canyon, for $10 and requested an exemption from the fee based on their status as a religious entity.[123][124] County officials rejected that request.[123]

In 2020, the Grant County News and Express reported that the Williamstown Family Fun Park had closed, and Main Street Gardens had become non-profit, exempting it from paying the safety assessment and leaving the Ark Encounter as the only business impacted.[125] The assessment generated $432,776 in revenue for the city in the 2018–19 fiscal year, equaling 865,553 paid tickets for the fiscal year.[125] The News and Express noted that this figure excluded children under 5 years old and lifetime members of the Ark Encounter, since neither group requires a paid ticket to enter.[125]

The paper also noted that, in 2020, the Ark Encounter changed its pricing to allow free admission to children under 10 who visit the attraction with a paying adult; Williamstown Mayor Rick Skinner said that he believed this would attract more visitors to the park, offsetting any potential loss in city revenue from tickets that would have been sold to children between 6 and 10 years old.[125]

On July 18, 2017, the state of Kentucky notified Ark Encounter that the sale of the property to Crosswater Canyon put them in breach of their agreement for $18 million in tax incentives.[126] Three days later, Crosswater Canyon reversed the sale, transferring the land back to Ark Encounter, LLC for $10.[126] On July 25, Ark Encounter said they would pay the safety assessment and had been collecting it on tickets sold beginning July 1.[123]

In a public statement, AiG spokesman Mark Looy said, "The filing for an exemption as a religious non-profit (as permitted in the ordinance), was done in an attempt to get the county to change the wording as it currently stands, which would exempt the Ark Encounter. It was not to avoid paying its fair share, as some articles have suggested."[123] AiG gave no official explanation for the transfer of land to or from Crosswater Canyon, which Williamstown officials had feared could be an attempt to avoid paying property taxes.[123][126] The Grant County News and Express reported in December 2017 that the safety assessment had generated approximately $213,000 for the city in four months, with less than $500 of that amount being paid by attractions other than Ark Encounter.[127]

In its first year of operation, Ark Encounter generated over $2.28 million in sales taxes for the state of Kentucky, a figure which excluded the period during which the attraction was owned by Crosswater Canyon.[128] Ark Encounter received a rebate of $1.8 million of the collected taxes, the maximum amount allowed for the year under terms of its agreement with the state.[128]

Hiring policies controversy

 
An Ark Encounter display describing the Genesis creation narrative.
 
An Ark Encounter display promoting a relatively rapid formation of the Grand Canyon as a result of the Genesis flood.
Ark Encounter employees must sign a statement that they agree with tenets of young Earth creationism such as the Genesis creation narrative and flood geology.

Americans United for the Separation of Church and State petitioned the Kentucky Tourism Development Finance Authority in August 2014 to withdraw its preliminary approval of tax incentives for the Ark Encounter because of AiG's hiring practices, which required all applicants to profess Christianity and sign a statement of faith attesting to their beliefs in young Earth creationism and that homosexuality is sinful among other requirements.[129][130] Zovath countered that the Ark Encounter's hiring policies had not been written yet and that the hiring policies of AiG should not be a factor because Ark Encounter, LLC was the entity receiving the incentives.[129]

In response to Americans United's petition, a spokesman for the Kentucky Tourism, Arts and Heritage Cabinet said, "As a condition of any incentive program, all projects must follow all state and federal laws, including all laws related to hiring."[129] Following Americans United's petition, the Lexington Herald-Leader editorial board also called for the incentives to be rescinded.[131]

In October, Kentucky Tourism Arts and Heritage Cabinet Secretary Bob Stewart wrote to AiG requesting "express written assurance from Ark Encounter that it will not discriminate in any way on the basis of religion in hiring for the project".[132] Citing the Supreme Court's decision in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby, which found that individuals had the right "to run their businesses as for-profit corporations in the manner required by their religious beliefs", AiG refused, insisting that Ark Encounter had the right to "include religion as a criteria [sic] in its future hiring decisions".[133][134]

In December 2014, Stewart announced that the incentives would be withdrawn, because the facility was to be used for religious indoctrination instead of as a tourist attraction, and because of complaints of hiring discrimination.[135] During the Christmas holidays, AiG conducted a billboard public relations campaign in support of the project in several metropolitan areas in Kentucky and a digital billboard in New York City's Times Square.[136]

Ark Encounter LLC, filed a religious discrimination lawsuit against the state in February 2015.[137] Freedom Guard chief counsel Mike Johnson represented AiG for free in the suit, which alleged the state of Kentucky violated Ark Encounter's First Amendment free speech rights by denying the incentives.[137] AiG officials maintained that the incentives, potentially worth $18 million, were not necessary to complete construction of the ark, but they would accelerate the timeline for constructing additional phases of the Ark Encounter.[138] After conservative Matt Bevin was elected to succeed Steve Beshear as governor in November 2015, Kentucky Senate Majority Leader Damon Thayer said he would encourage the new governor's administration to restore the tax incentives and render AiG's lawsuit moot, but Ham insisted that AiG preferred to have the matter adjudicated to set a legal precedent.[139]

On January 25, 2016, Federal Judge Gregory F. Van Tatenhove of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky ruled in favor of AiG in the case of Ark Encounter LLC et al. vs. Bob Stewart et al., ordering the state to commence processing the application for the tax rebate incentives that would become available once the Ark Encounter opened.[140][141] Bevin announced that the state would not appeal Van Tatenhove's decision, and later replaced four of the nine members on the Tourism Development Finance Authority.[29][142] Ark Encounter began advertising to fill 300 to 400 jobs in the park in April 2016; applicants were required to sign a statement of faith before being hired.[143] Two weeks later, the Tourism Development Finance Authority approved the incentives.[8]

See also

References

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External links

  • Official website  
  •   Media related to Ark Encounter at Wikimedia Commons

August 23, 2023
encounter, christian, young, earth, creationist, theme, park, that, opened, williamstown, kentucky, united, states, 2016, centerpiece, park, large, representation, noah, based, genesis, flood, narrative, contained, bible, feet, long, feet, wide, feet, high, no. Ark Encounter is a Christian young Earth creationist YEC theme park that opened in Williamstown Kentucky United States in 2016 2 3 The centerpiece of the park is a large representation of Noah s Ark based on the Genesis flood narrative contained in the Bible It is 510 feet 155 4 m long 85 feet 25 9 m wide and 51 feet 15 5 m high Ark EncounterNoah s Ark at Ark Encounter 2021 LocationWilliamstown Kentucky United StatesCoordinates38 37 20 N 84 35 32 W 38 6222 N 84 5923 W 38 6222 84 5923StatusOperatingOpenedJuly 7 2016 2016 07 07 OwnerArk Encounter LLCOperated byAnswers in GenesisThemeNoah s ArkSlogan It s bigger than imagination 1 Operating seasonYear roundAttendance862 471 1 million July 2017 June 2018 Websitearkencounter wbr comArk Encounter is operated by Answers in Genesis AiG a YEC organization that also operates the Creation Museum 45 miles 70 km away in Petersburg Kentucky 2 Australian Ken Ham creationist and CEO of AiG founded the park 4 The theme park promotes pseudoscientific young Earth creationist beliefs about the age of the universe age of the Earth and co existence of humans and non avian dinosaurs 3 5 6 7 After feasibility studies projected that the park would be a boon to the state s tourism industry 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 8 A dispute over AiG s hiring practices was adjudicated in U S federal court which found in 2016 that the organization 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 2 Contents 1 Visitor experience 2 History 2 1 Planning 2 2 Purchase of site 2 3 Design and construction 2 4 Opening 2 5 Subsequent events 3 In the media 4 Attendance 5 Tax incentives controversies 6 Hiring policies controversy 7 See also 8 References 9 External linksVisitor experience EditThe ark contains 132 bays each standing about 18 feet 5 5 m high arranged into three decks 9 10 Visitors enter on the lowest deck and move between decks on ramps constructed through the center of the ark 11 Bays on the first deck contain models of some animals that AiG believes could have been on the ark there are no live animals within the exhibit 12 13 though there is a petting zoo on the grounds 2 14 15 The models are meant to represent kinds of animals which AiG says gave rise to modern animals after the flood 16 Prior to the Ark s opening media outlets reported it would feature models of dinosaurs and Biblical unicorns 13 17 Deck 2 A live animal exhibit alternates between llamas alpacas and donkeys from day to day The second deck contains more animal models along with dioramas of Noah s workshop and a blacksmith 12 Bays on the third deck contain displays presenting what AiG believes might have happened inside and outside the ark during the flood 12 Displays in three of the bays include artifacts from the Green Collection and promote the Museum of the Bible a Washington D C attraction constructed by the Green family who donated to the Ark Encounter s construction 18 RoadsideAmerica com rated the displays depicting the sinful state of the world before the flood including a priest sacrificing an infant to an unnamed snake god and people fighting a giant and a dinosaur in a gladiatorial arena as among the most memorable exhibits in the attraction 19 Visiting scientists find the juxtaposition of humans and dinosaurs not only ridiculous but also harmful to young guests In an interview discussing her tour of the Ark Encounter Bailey Harris states that while she was impressed with the size of the attraction she found it all much sillier than I expected The dinosaurs that are everywhere in displays with humans like in the Flintstones gets old really fast The antiscience represented along with this magnificence is so dangerous to children It is designed to overwhelm children with its size and beauty to then present untruths from beginning to end 20 The ark is held 15 feet 4 6 m off the ground by a series of concrete towers The starboard side of the hull merges into three 80 foot 24 m masonry towers containing stairwells elevators and restrooms 9 Besides the Ark Encounter itself there are a handful of other attractions within the theme park including Emzara s Kitchen a two story buffet style restaurant with a capacity of 1 500 guests making it one of the largest restaurants in the world 21 22 Also featured are ziplining a virtual reality theater and the Ararat Ridge zoo which features a petting zoo and a variety of wild animals such as kangaroos and camels 23 History Edit A scale model of the Ark on deck 1 Planning Edit On December 1 2010 the young Earth creationism group Answers in Genesis AiG and the for profit corporation Ark Encounter LLC announced that they would partner to build a theme park called Ark Encounter that as they claimed would lend credence to the biblical account of a catastrophic flood and to dispel doubts that Noah could have fit two of every kind of animal onto a 500 foot long ark 24 The partners projected that the fully completed park would cost 150 million which they intended to raise privately 25 Under a program enacted by the Kentucky General Assembly in 2010 Ark Encounter investors applied for Economic Development Incentives that would allow them to recoup 25 percent of the project s construction costs by keeping a portion of the park s sales taxes during its first ten years of operation 26 Receipt of the incentives would be contingent upon Ark Encounter meeting established performance goals upon opening 27 A press release from Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear s office cited a feasibility study commissioned by Ark Encounter LLC and conducted by consumer research corporation America s Research Group Limited Inc 27 The company had also conducted the feasibility study for AiG s Ark Encounter and an attitudinal survey included in Ken Ham s book Already Gone ARC founder C Britt Beemer was credited as a co author of the book 27 This projected the park could employ 900 people attract as many as 1 6 million visitors in its first year of operation and generate a 214 million economic impact for the region 24 27 The group selected an 800 acre 320 ha parcel near Interstate 75 in Grant County Kentucky near the city of Williamstown and about 45 miles 70 km from AiG s Creation Museum in Petersburg Kentucky 28 The city of Williamstown designated a 1 25 mile 2 01 km radius around the Ark Encounter site as a tax increment financing district meaning 75 percent of sales and property taxes collected in the district would return to Ark Encounter for a period of 30 years 29 Employees working in the district would also pay a 2 percent employment tax over the same time frame that would go to the Ark Encounter 29 The Grant County Industrial Development Authority paid Ark Encounter LLC 195 000 to compensate the corporation for the fact that word of their interest in building the attraction in Grant County had leaked early causing land prices to double in the area 30 Further the Grant County Fiscal Court discounted the sale price of 100 acres 40 ha of the site to influence the final selection 30 Citing the proffered incentives Ark Encounter LLC made the Grant County site their final selection and scheduled groundbreaking for August 2011 31 Plans for additional phases of the park include a model of the Tower of Babel along with replicas of an ancient walled city and a first century Middle Eastern village 32 33 Purchase of site Edit A view down middle open area Ark Encounter LLC finalized the purchase of the entire Ark Encounter site in February 2012 34 At that time AiG announced the decision to construct the park in phases saying it had raised only 5 million 35 of the 24 million 36 needed to begin construction The first phase included a full scale model of Noah s Ark and a petting zoo 37 Plans for five subsequent phases included replicas of an ancient walled city a first century Middle Eastern village and the Tower of Babel an aviary and a 500 seat special effects theater 33 37 38 Ken Ham the founder of Answers in Genesis the group behind Ark EncounterIn December 2013 the city of Williamstown offered 62 million using tax increment financing of bonds to jump start construction on the Ark Encounter 39 The unrated bonds were backed by the Ark Encounter s projected future revenues but the city was not liable for repaying them in the event that the revenues did not materialize 39 At the time of the offering Ark Encounter LLC had raised approximately 14 million toward construction of the park 39 A group of atheist objectors to the Ark Encounter attempted to disrupt the offering by registering for the sale themselves and conducting a public relations campaign against the bonds 18 In early January 2014 only 26 5 million in bonds had been sold if at least 55 million in bonds were not sold by February 6 all of the bonds would be automatically redeemed 40 On February 27 2014 AiG founder Ken Ham announced that his February 4 debate on the viability of creationism with TV personality Bill Nye the Science Guy had spurred bond sales and that the Ark Encounter had raised enough money to begin construction 41 AiG officials said the final cost of the park at its opening exceeded 100 million including 62 million from the Williamstown bond offering and 36 million from individual donations 2 The second phase of the park construction was projected to commence in 2018 or 2019 38 The 2014 Kentucky General Assembly allocated 1 15 million to Grant County for road improvements to accommodate the heavier traffic expected to be generated by the Ark Encounter 42 The Assembly also projected the need for 9 1 million in 2017 to improve the Interstate 75 interchange at Williamstown but this allocation was beyond the scope of the state s two year road funding plan 42 The 2016 General Assembly allocated 10 million to create a new interchange between Kentucky Route 36 KY 36 and Interstate 75 43 Until the improvements are completed AiG is paying for workers to direct traffic on KY 36 near the Ark Encounter 43 After the initial allocation by the state AiG invested 500 000 of its own money into improving KY 36 this and better than expected traffic flow led to the Kentucky Department of Transportation scaling back the proposed improvements awarding a 3 5 million contract in December 2017 44 The project was projected to be completed November 2 2018 44 In July 2014 with the approved tax incentives set to expire if work on the park had not begun Ark Encounter withdrew the approved application and filed a new one to receive incentives on the 73 million first phase 45 The new application required a new feasibility study to be conducted 46 AiG paid for the study again conducted by Hunden Strategic Partners which projected a more conservative 400 000 visitors a year 787 new jobs and a 40 million economic impact 46 Shortly after the application was given preliminary approval by the Kentucky Tourism Development Finance Authority Kentucky House Speaker Greg Stumbo said he believed the incentives to be unconstitutional He added that he expected the state to be sued and lose a costly lawsuit over the issue 47 Design and construction Edit A view from near the bow of the Ark Encounter with visitors to show scale Cary Summers who headed Herschend Family Entertainment from 1992 to 1998 was hired as the lead consultant for the Ark Encounter 26 Patrick Marsh who helped design exhibits for the Creation Museum and previously designed attractions for Universal Studios Florida was part of the planning and design team 48 The Troyer Group a construction firm in Mishawaka Indiana was contracted to oversee construction of the ark which was constructed by Amish builders using traditional timber framing techniques 28 49 In total over 1 000 craftsmen were employed in the ark s construction 50 As possible board pulling was used rather than steaming Steel nails were used to conform with building code regulations 1 Lighting at the Ark Encounter is designed to resemble oil lamps While the builders originally planned to hold the ark together with wooden pegs modern building codes required the builders to use steel fasteners thus 95 tons of metal plates and bolts were used to connect the wood together 51 The electric lighting inside was designed to look like oil lamps 9 According to AiG the Ark Encounter is the largest timber frame structure in the United States 2 AiG considered twelve different possible lengths for the biblical cubit and AiG chose to use a length of 20 1 inches 51 cm this produced plans for an ark measuring 510 feet 155 m long 85 feet 26 m wide and 51 feet 16 m high 52 The Ark Encounter consists of approximately 3 300 000 board feet 7 800 m3 of wood 1 The framing of the ark consists mostly of Engelmann spruce while the exterior is made of pine some of the logs were as long as 50 feet 15 m long and 36 inches 91 cm in diameter 53 The park s structures and infrastructure were constructed using environmentally friendly Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design LEED certified methods including geothermal heating rainwater capture active and passive solar heating 54 The Washington Post wrote that the decision to use such techniques was exemplary of a fundamental shift in how religiously conservative Christians think of two basic biblical ideas dominion and stewardship 54 Hydroponic gardens produce lettuce to feed the animals housed at the attraction s petting zoo as well as the landscape plants for the Ark Encounter and Creation Museum 55 Construction crews began clearing timber from the site late in 2012 in order to remove the shagbark hickory trees before the endangered Indiana bats migrated to the area to nest in them 56 Much of the wood used to build the Ark Encounter was sourced from renewable forests or trees infested by beetles 57 During construction former President Jimmy Carter toured the Ark Encounter accepting an invitation from LeRoy Troyer president of the Troyer Group 58 Opening Edit Ark Encounter opened on July 7 2016 a date 7 7 chosen to correspond with Genesis 7 7 And Noah and his sons and his wife and his sons wives entered the ark to escape the waters of the flood 59 AiG also announced that for the first 40 days and 40 nights of Ark Encounter s operation an allusion to the inundation period rain and subterranean hydrological eruptions of the biblical flood it would extend its hours of operation offering day and evening tickets 60 On July 5 AiG held a ribbon cutting ceremony for the Ark Encounter during which members of the media and an estimated 7 000 donors to the project were given an early tour of the ark 61 According to the park s publicists there were 30 000 visitors in its first six days of operation an average of 5 000 per day 62 A monument erected by the AiG board of directors just prior to Ark Encounter s opening with signage referencing a similar monument from Joshua 4Tri State Freethinkers planned to protest the Ark Encounter s opening with a nearby billboard depicting people drowning around Noah s Ark with the caption Genocide and Incest Park Celebrating 2 000 years of myths but billboard companies Lamar Advertising Company and Event Advertising and Promotions LLC rejected the design 63 The Courier Journal reported that approximately 150 opponents of the Ark Encounter gathered near the highway exit to protest the park on its opening day 14 Eric Hovind of Creation Today led a counter protest during which he offered to pay for any of the ark protesters to tour the ark the Northern Kentucky Tribune reported that 21 anti ark protesters accepted Hovind s offer 64 The next day popular science communicator Bill Nye accepted Ken Ham s invitation to tour the Ark Encounter 65 and they had an informal debate as they toured the structure 66 Nye stated It s all very troubling You have hundreds of school kids there who have already been indoctrinated and who have been brainwashed This is about the absolutely wrong idea that the Earth is 6 000 years old that s alarming to me Earlier in the debate Ham stated My biggest concern is you re teaching generations of young people that they re just animals 6 67 Footage from Nye s visit was subsequently included in the documentary film Bill Nye Science Guy which was released in 2017 68 The Freedom From Religion Foundation an organization that advocates for the separation of church and state sent letters to over 1 000 public school districts in Kentucky Tennessee Ohio Indiana and West Virginia warning them not to organize field trips to the Ark Encounter arguing that such trips would expose children to religious proselytizing in violation of the constitutional separation of church and state 69 70 Grant County Kentucky Education Commissioner Stephen Pruitt responded that approval of field trips is a decision of local school boards but that such trips should be directly related to curriculum He said it is not appropriate for outside third parties to dictate field trip selections 71 Contending that FFRF was incorrect in their assertion Ham posted on his blog that he would encourage public school groups to visit the ark by offering admission of 1 per child and no charge for accompanying teachers for the remainder of 2016 72 Subsequent events Edit The Ark Encounter at night December 2021The Tri State Freethinkers has protested annually at the Ark Encounter on the anniversary of its opening citing its hiring practices anti evolution teachings and acceptance of state tax incentives as causes for protestors concerns 73 Local media coverage estimated the size of the 2018 protest to be between 120 and 200 people 73 In December 2016 for the holiday season AiG lit the Ark with rainbow colors the purpose being to reclaim the symbol from the gay rights movement and remind viewers of the Noahic covenant 74 In February 2017 Ken Ham announced AiG would permanently continue the rainbow lighting 75 Permanent lights were installed in July 2017 76 77 AiG also plans to open a Rainbow Garden near the petting zoo where flowers create a rainbow display 78 In November 2017 construction began on a 2 500 seat theater on the park s grounds The theater was originally projected to be completed in time to host the Equipping Families to Stand conference scheduled for July 18 2018 but construction has been delayed and the building was subsequently projected to open before the end of 2018 78 79 AiG also announced a new children s play area scheduled to open in spring 2019 and an expansion to the petting zoo projected to open by mid 2019 78 The Ark Encounter s dispute with the FFRF that began upon the former s opening continued with the latter sending letters to 1 000 school districts surrounding the attraction after AiG offered free admission to school trips 80 81 In May 2019 Ark Encounter filed a federal lawsuit against its five insurance carriers for not covering nearly 1 million in damages from roadway failure subsequent to rain 82 According to the lawsuit an access road was damaged by heavy rains in 2017 and 2018 which caused a landslide Insurance companies cited an exclusion for correcting design deficiencies or faulty workmanship The suit asked for compensatory and punitive damages 82 83 The ark itself was not damaged in the incident and the attraction remained open to visitors 83 84 The insurance company Allied World applied to separate the breach of contract claims from the bad faith claims but the court rejected the request The case was settled in August 2020 when lawyers for both sides requested that the case be dismissed Settlement details were not made public 85 Pursuant to an executive order from Kentucky governor Andy Beshear closing all non essential businesses in the state Ark Encounter was temporarily closed on March 17 2020 during the COVID 19 pandemic 86 During the closure AiG staff conducted events on Facebook Live but no visitors were allowed in the park and many of its staff members were temporarily laid off 86 87 After Beshear lit the governor s mansion with green lights as a show of solidarity and compassion for the victims of COVID 19 AiG lit the Ark Encounter green as well 86 Upon reopening on June 8 AiG limited the number of visitors allowed in the park to one third of its capacity to facilitate social distancing and observed other sanitation guidelines recommended by the Commonwealth of Kentucky 87 88 89 In August 2020 Ark Encounter officials announced it would host a Christian music festival the following year that would last 40 days and 40 nights 90 91 Also in August 2020 Ark Encounter opened a new 3 million virtual reality experience called the Truth Traveler 92 In July 2021 Ark Encounter announced expansion plans These plans included a Tower of Babel attraction an indoor scale model of what Jerusalem may have looked like during the time of Jesus and a themed carousel 93 94 95 According to Ham the Tower of Babel attraction is intended to confront racism by showing that humanity is descended from a common ancestor monogenism 96 In the media Edit View of the Ark Encounter from the exterior ground level October 2016On October 22 2016 the Ark Encounter hosted the premiere of evangelist Ray Comfort s film The Atheist Delusion 97 98 Ozzy Osbourne and his son Jack visited the Ark Encounter in April 2017 to film an episode of their reality television series Ozzy amp Jack s World Detour 99 The episode entitled Kentucky Fried Osbournes aired on A amp E on November 29 2017 99 Ark Encounter was designated the Sight of the Week for January 1 7 2018 by Doug Kirby s RoadsideAmerica com 19 The site gave Ark Encounter its highest rating The Best noting the Ark is an attraction that should be visited if only because it s unlikely that you ll ever visit anything else like it 19 The review characterized the ark as a very nuts and bolts American Ark with Noah and his clan in the mold of self sufficient Pilgrims and innovative pioneers emphasis in original 19 On February 17 2020 PBS aired a documentary about the Ark Encounter entitled We Believe in Dinosaurs The filmmakers stated that their intention was to produce a non judgmental look at the Ark Encounter and its history but upon release Ken Ham called the film an agenda driven propaganda piece that does not rise to the level of a real documentary 100 Filmmakers Monica Long Ross and Clayton Brown followed the storyline of a religious organization creating their own alternative science in a legitimate looking museum 101 The Ark Encounter was chosen as the Best Religious Museum in the 2020 USA Today 10Best com Readers Choice Awards Its sister attraction the Creation Museum was ranked second 102 103 104 Polling for the award was halted during the COVID 19 pandemic but resumed in 2023 when the Ark Encounter and Creation Museum were again voted first and second respectively in the Best Religious Museum category 105 Attendance EditAiG initially predicted yearly attendance for the attraction of 1 4 2 2 million people After a year of operation AiG reported attendance of about 1 million attributing the lower number to opening in the middle of tourist season 106 107 108 On February 24 2017 Executive Director of the Grant County Chamber of Commerce Jamie Baker stated that the Ark had drawn additional tourism to the area and that the challenge now was to expand accommodation and other local amenities in order to convert this into economic growth for the county 109 In March the Northern Kentucky Convention and Visitors Bureau presented the Ark Encounter with its Star of Tourism award for 2016 110 Bureau President Eric Summe reported a 23 million increase in visitor spending in nearby Boone Kenton and Campbell counties in 2016 over 2015 the year that the region hosted the Major League Baseball All Star Game Summe attributed a large part of the increase in spending and hotel occupancy to the opening of the Ark Encounter and an expansion of its sister attraction AiG s Creation Museum 111 In June 2017 Mayor Jim Wells of Dry Ridge Kentucky stated that the Ark Encounter had a positive effect on the town with hotel occupancy rates increasing from 60 to 98 percent since the opening of the attraction 112 In July 2018 Nashville based Athena Hospitality Group broke ground on a hotel and restaurant development in Dry Ridge citing the need for more accommodations for Ark Encounter visitors as the motivation 113 The planned development will accommodate three hotels and three restaurants with the first hotel an 80 room Comfort Suites projected to open in the third quarter of 2019 113 At the end of Ark Encounter s second year July 2017 to June 2018 AiG reported an attendance of 1 million visitors for the year County tax revenue called safety assessment from paid ticket sales reflected approximately 860 000 paid admissions The balance were young children and people with long term passes who did not require paid ticket entry 114 115 Because the city of Williamstown based their annual budget on AiG s attendance projections the city was forced to readjust its budget downward when the number of paying guests fell short of 1 million 116 In 2020 Williamstown Mayor Rick Skinner noted that Ark attendance had been averaging about ten percent higher than the city had forecast until its temporary closure due to COVID 19 87 At the end of the fiscal year revenue from the safety assessment fell twenty percent short of projections 87 In 2021 Ark Encounter returned to its 2019 attendance numbers and set record attendance numbers for certain days during the summer Local businesses were booming as a result of increased tourism to Ark Encounter and Creation Museum 93 In April 2021 the Ark Encounter and Creation Museum were preparing to welcome their 10 millionth visitor altogether 117 Tax incentives controversies EditOrganizations dedicated to supporting the separation of church and state were divided on the question of providing tax incentives for the Ark Encounter Barry W Lynn of Americans United for Separation of Church and State opined that The government should not be giving tax incentives for religious projects Religion should be supported by voluntary donations not the government 24 Bill Sharp the staff attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky replied that Courts have found that giving such tax exemptions on a nondiscriminatory basis does not violate the establishment clause even when the tax exemption goes to a religious purpose 24 Edwin Kagin of American Atheists brought up the difficulty of litigating against the incentives provided by state laws saying The legislation is so drafted that they will give this incentive to any organization that is going to increase tourism in Kentucky and there s no question whatsoever that this group will 48 The editorial board of the Lexington Herald Leader wrote that Ark Encounters sic is a private company seeking to make a profit off of a biblical theme As such it seems as entitled to apply for incentives from promised profits as any other private for profit company in Kentucky 118 Still the board was critical of using the incentives to attract low paying jobs and to facilitate construction of an attraction it characterized as hostile to science knowledge and education which could be off putting to the kind of employers that will provide good paying jobs with a future 118 Governor Beshear which favored the incentives stating The people of Kentucky didn t elect me governor to debate religion They elected me governor to create jobs Beshear said adding There s nothing even remotely unconstitutional about a for profit organization coming in and investing 150 million to create jobs in Kentucky and bring tourism to Kentucky 24 Responding to an open records request by the Lexington Herald Leader Beshear s office later admitted it had not seen the feasibility study cited in its press release and an administration representative said that the state tourism department would have to conduct its own study in order for the park to be eligible for the incentives 27 The state commissioned study by Hunden Strategic Partners and paid for by Ark Encounter LLC projected that the park would draw nearly 1 4 million visitors a year but could require the state to widen the Interstate 75 interchange at Williamstown at an additional cost to the state of about 11 million 31 119 In an editorial in late December 2010 The Courier Journal questioned the potential cost to the state government of the project including highway upgrades and the likelihood that increases to hospitality industry infrastructure would seek further subsidies 120 In May 2011 the Kentucky Tourism Development Finance Authority voted unanimously to grant incentives of up to 43 1 million to Ark Encounter LLC for the project by then projected to cost 172 million 31 119 In June 2017 Grant County Judge Executive Stephen P Wood told the Lexington Herald Leader that the tax incentives offered to the Ark Encounter were a really bad deal for taxpayers 121 Although the valuation of the property within Ark Encounter s tax increment financing district increased from 1 3 million in 2011 to 55 million in 2017 under the terms of its deal with Ark Encounter the county only retained 63 000 of the 250 000 in property taxes collected within the district with the rest returning to the park 121 School taxes were exempted from the deal and Grant County Schools saw a 58 increase in property tax revenue from 2016 to 2017 121 In April 2017 the city of Williamstown implemented a safety assessment of 50 cents per ticket sold at the Ark Encounter the Williamstown Family Fun Park and Main Street Gardens to upgrade the city s emergency equipment to sufficiently serve the attractions 122 AiG maintained that as the largest of the three attractions the assessment placed an undue share of the cost on Ark Encounter 123 After Williamstown officials rejected AiG s request to cap its share of the cost first at 350 000 and later at 500 000 Ark Encounter LLC sold the main parcel of land for the attraction to its non profit affiliate Crosswater Canyon for 10 and requested an exemption from the fee based on their status as a religious entity 123 124 County officials rejected that request 123 In 2020 the Grant County News and Express reported that the Williamstown Family Fun Park had closed and Main Street Gardens had become non profit exempting it from paying the safety assessment and leaving the Ark Encounter as the only business impacted 125 The assessment generated 432 776 in revenue for the city in the 2018 19 fiscal year equaling 865 553 paid tickets for the fiscal year 125 The News and Express noted that this figure excluded children under 5 years old and lifetime members of the Ark Encounter since neither group requires a paid ticket to enter 125 The paper also noted that in 2020 the Ark Encounter changed its pricing to allow free admission to children under 10 who visit the attraction with a paying adult Williamstown Mayor Rick Skinner said that he believed this would attract more visitors to the park offsetting any potential loss in city revenue from tickets that would have been sold to children between 6 and 10 years old 125 On July 18 2017 the state of Kentucky notified Ark Encounter that the sale of the property to Crosswater Canyon put them in breach of their agreement for 18 million in tax incentives 126 Three days later Crosswater Canyon reversed the sale transferring the land back to Ark Encounter LLC for 10 126 On July 25 Ark Encounter said they would pay the safety assessment and had been collecting it on tickets sold beginning July 1 123 In a public statement AiG spokesman Mark Looy said The filing for an exemption as a religious non profit as permitted in the ordinance was done in an attempt to get the county to change the wording as it currently stands which would exempt the Ark Encounter It was not to avoid paying its fair share as some articles have suggested 123 AiG gave no official explanation for the transfer of land to or from Crosswater Canyon which Williamstown officials had feared could be an attempt to avoid paying property taxes 123 126 The Grant County News and Express reported in December 2017 that the safety assessment had generated approximately 213 000 for the city in four months with less than 500 of that amount being paid by attractions other than Ark Encounter 127 In its first year of operation Ark Encounter generated over 2 28 million in sales taxes for the state of Kentucky a figure which excluded the period during which the attraction was owned by Crosswater Canyon 128 Ark Encounter received a rebate of 1 8 million of the collected taxes the maximum amount allowed for the year under terms of its agreement with the state 128 Hiring policies controversy Edit An Ark Encounter display describing the Genesis creation narrative An Ark Encounter display promoting a relatively rapid formation of the Grand Canyon as a result of the Genesis flood Ark Encounter employees must sign a statement that they agree with tenets of young Earth creationism such as the Genesis creation narrative and flood geology Americans United for the Separation of Church and State petitioned the Kentucky Tourism Development Finance Authority in August 2014 to withdraw its preliminary approval of tax incentives for the Ark Encounter because of AiG s hiring practices which required all applicants to profess Christianity and sign a statement of faith attesting to their beliefs in young Earth creationism and that homosexuality is sinful among other requirements 129 130 Zovath countered that the Ark Encounter s hiring policies had not been written yet and that the hiring policies of AiG should not be a factor because Ark Encounter LLC was the entity receiving the incentives 129 In response to Americans United s petition a spokesman for the Kentucky Tourism Arts and Heritage Cabinet said As a condition of any incentive program all projects must follow all state and federal laws including all laws related to hiring 129 Following Americans United s petition the Lexington Herald Leader editorial board also called for the incentives to be rescinded 131 In October Kentucky Tourism Arts and Heritage Cabinet Secretary Bob Stewart wrote to AiG requesting express written assurance from Ark Encounter that it will not discriminate in any way on the basis of religion in hiring for the project 132 Citing the Supreme Court s decision in Burwell v Hobby Lobby which found that individuals had the right to run their businesses as for profit corporations in the manner required by their religious beliefs AiG refused insisting that Ark Encounter had the right to include religion as a criteria sic in its future hiring decisions 133 134 In December 2014 Stewart announced that the incentives would be withdrawn because the facility was to be used for religious indoctrination instead of as a tourist attraction and because of complaints of hiring discrimination 135 During the Christmas holidays AiG conducted a billboard public relations campaign in support of the project in several metropolitan areas in Kentucky and a digital billboard in New York City s Times Square 136 Ark Encounter LLC filed a religious discrimination lawsuit against the state in February 2015 137 Freedom Guard chief counsel Mike Johnson represented AiG for free in the suit which alleged the state of Kentucky violated Ark Encounter s First Amendment free speech rights by denying the incentives 137 AiG officials maintained that the incentives potentially worth 18 million were not necessary to complete construction of the ark but they would accelerate the timeline for constructing additional phases of the Ark Encounter 138 After conservative Matt Bevin was elected to succeed Steve Beshear as governor in November 2015 Kentucky Senate Majority Leader Damon Thayer said he would encourage the new governor s administration to restore the tax incentives and render AiG s lawsuit moot but Ham insisted that AiG preferred to have the matter adjudicated to set a legal precedent 139 On January 25 2016 Federal Judge Gregory F Van Tatenhove of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky ruled in favor of AiG in the case of Ark Encounter LLC et al vs Bob Stewart et al ordering the state to commence processing the application for the tax rebate incentives that would become available once the Ark Encounter opened 140 141 Bevin announced that the state would not appeal Van Tatenhove s decision and later replaced four of the nine members on the Tourism Development Finance Authority 29 142 Ark Encounter began advertising to fill 300 to 400 jobs in the park in April 2016 applicants were required to sign a statement of faith before being hired 143 Two weeks later the Tourism Development Finance Authority approved the incentives 8 See also EditFlood myth List of flood myths Noah s Ark replicas and derivatives Religious cosmologyReferences Edit a b c Meehan Mary June 26 2016 Massive ark attraction set to open in Northern Kentucky Lexington Herald Leader Lexington Kentucky The McClatchy Company Retrieved April 29 2017 a b c d e f Sherter Alain Visitors protesters turn out for Ark Encounter opening in Grant County wkyt com a b Goodstein Laurie June 26 2016 A Noah s Ark in Kentucky Dinosaurs Included The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Retrieved April 29 2017 Kobin Billy February 12 2020 We Believe in Dinosaurs PBS documentary focuses on Kentucky s Ark Encounter The Enquirer Retrieved December 11 2022 Rosenau Josh August 13 2016 That sinking feeling New Scientist 231 3086 18 19 doi 10 1016 S0262 4079 16 31456 7 ISSN 0262 4079 a b Ortiz Erik July 16 2016 Absolutely Wrong Bill Nye Takes on Noah s Ark Exhibit NBC News Retrieved April 29 2017 Card Jeb J Anderson David S September 15 2016 Lost city found pyramid understanding alternative archaeologies and pseudoscientific practices Card Jeb J Anderson David S 1978 Tuscaloosa p 86 ISBN 978 0 8173 1911 3 OCLC 952421434 a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a CS1 maint location missing publisher link a b Loftus Tom April 26 2016 Ark Park Tax Incentives Worth Up to 18M Approved Courier Journal Retrieved April 27 2016 a b c Ward Karla June 26 2016 Noah s Ark takes shape in Grant County Lexington Herald Leader Lexington Kentucky The McClatchy Company Retrieved April 29 2017 Weed Alexis July 7 2016 Noah s Ark opens at Kentucky theme park CNN Retrieved July 8 2016 Blackford Linda July 7 2016 Massive Noah s Ark park opens in Kentucky Lexington Herald Leader Lexington Kentucky The McClatchy Company Retrieved April 29 2017 a b c Sirianni Maura July 7 2016 Ark Encounter opens in northern Kentucky WDRB Retrieved July 8 2016 a b Westerman Ashley July 5 2016 Life Size Noah s Ark To Open Amid A Flood Of Skepticism National Public Radio Retrieved July 8 2016 a b Shapiro Bobby July 7 2016 What to know if you re visiting Ark Encounter The Courier Journal Retrieved July 8 2016 These Creationists Have a Bigger Plan than a Giant Ark The Herald June 12 2017 Retrieved June 28 2017 Gabbat Adam July 6 2016 Creators of the lost ark replica of Noah s vessel unveiled in Kentucky The Guardian Retrieved July 8 2016 Fisher Max December 28 2010 Kentucky Creationist Museum Will Feature Dragons Unicorns The Atlantic Retrieved February 16 2019 a b Pilcher James June 28 2016 Who pays for the new ark Taxpayers help Cincinnati Enquirer Retrieved June 29 2016 a b c d Noah s Ark RoadsideAmerica com January 1 2018 Archived from the original on January 5 2018 Retrieved January 2 2018 Palmer Rob Challenging Creationism at the Ark Encounter An Interview with Bailey Harris Skeptical Inquirer Center for Inquiry Retrieved August 8 2023 ON A MISSION Ark brings couple to Grant County Grant County News and Express November 13 2019 Latham Saundra April 16 2019 30 of the Largest Restaurants Around the World Cheapist com Retrieved March 11 2020 Northern Kentucky s Biblical Theme Park Ark Encounter is Expanding CityBeat June 24 2019 Archived from the original on June 24 2019 Retrieved June 17 2021 a b c d e Alford Roger December 3 2010 Full scale replica of Noah s Ark planned in Kentucky USA Today The Associated Press News Service Retrieved April 20 2016 Plans announced for Noah s Ark attraction in NKY WISTV November 30 2010 Archived from the original on September 18 2016 Retrieved April 23 2016 a b Hopkins Shawntaye December 2 2010 Beshear defends use of tax incentives Lexington Herald Leader Lexington Kentucky The McClatchy Company Retrieved April 29 2017 a b c d e Blackford Linda B December 18 2010 State cited feasibility study it hadn t seen on Ark park Lexington Herald Leader Lexington Kentucky The McClatchy Company Retrieved April 23 2010 a b Goodstein Laurie December 5 2010 In Kentucky Noah s Ark Theme Park Is Planned New York Times Retrieved April 29 2017 a b c Tucker Lindsay January 29 2016 Noah s Ark Rises in Kentucky Dinosaurs and All Newsweek Retrieved May 10 2016 a b Blackford Linda B August 9 2011 Noah s Ark theme park to get deep discount on property taxes Lexington Herald Leader Lexington Kentucky The McClatchy Company Retrieved April 29 2017 a b c Hansel Mark June 11 2011 Ark park could break ground in August Cincinnati Enquirer Cincinnati Archived from the original on October 13 2014 Retrieved April 29 2017 Booker Ted July 6 2016 Mishawaka firm builds a new Noah s ark without the flood South Bend Tribune Retrieved July 8 2016 a b Heller Karen May 24 2017 A giant ark is just the start These creationists have a bigger plan for recruiting new believers The Washington Post Retrieved January 23 2021 Ky Noah s Ark attraction gets final piece of land kypost com Cincinnati E W Scripps Company Associated Press February 16 2012 Archived from the original on June 19 2012 Retrieved April 29 2017 Final Piece of Land for Full size Ark Purchased Answers in Genesis February 16 2012 Retrieved April 30 2017 Accordingly the Ark Encounter will be built in multiple phases Our Greatest Need Ark Encounter February 16 2012 Retrieved April 30 2017 24 million price tag a b From the Makers of the Creation Museum Comes Ark Encounter a Noah s Ark Theme Park National Religious Broadcasters November 14 2013 Retrieved April 21 2016 a b Demeropolis Tom October 7 2015 Will the Ark Encounter Rain 4 Billion On the Region s Economy Cincinnati Business Courier Retrieved April 27 2016 a b c Blackford Linda B November 27 2013 City seeks to jump start stalled Ark Encounter park with 62 million junk bond offering Lexington Herald Leader The McClatchy Company Retrieved May 1 2017 Chappatta Brian January 3 2014 Planned Ark park in Northern Ky faces collapse without more bond buyers Lexington Herald Leader Lexington Kentucky The McClatchy Company Bloomberg News Retrieved May 1 2017 Lovan Dylan February 27 2014 Noah s ark project spurred by evolution debate Associated Press Retrieved May 1 2017 a b Brammer Jack Cheves John April 15 2014 Lawmakers approve road building plan scholarship bill in final hours of legislative session Lexington Herald Leader Lexington Kentucky The McClatchy Company Retrieved May 1 2017 a b Wartman Scott April 23 2016 State will pay for revamped exit for Ark Encounter Cincinnati Enquirer Retrieved May 11 2016 a b Road improvements coming to KY 36 near Ark Grant County News and Express December 20 2017 Loftus Tom July 28 2014 Tax incentives sought for Noah s Ark theme park The Messenger Madisonville Kentucky a b Blackford Linda B January 22 2015 Ark park impact in dispute Lexington Herald Leader Brammer Jack July 30 2014 Stumbo State tax incentives for Noah s Ark theme park violate constitution Lexington Herald Leader a b Lovan Dylan T August 17 2011 New Noah s Ark in Ky aims to prove truth of Bible Associated Press Hansel Mark March 11 2013 Ark park construction to start this year in Grant The Messenger Madisonville Kentucky Boyd Gordon July 7 2016 Ark Encounter opens to praise protests WAVE Retrieved July 8 2016 Ramey Corinne July 8 2015 Meet the Creationist Group Building a Life Size Noah s Ark Curbed com Retrieved June 29 2016 Hope floats Builders of life size Noah s Ark put faith in 50 million tourism project USA Today November 19 2012 Schneider Roger July 3 2016 Anabaptist craftsmen use skills to help create ark attraction Goshen News Goshen Indiana Retrieved July 5 2016 a b Kennicott Philip January 5 2011 Noah s Ark replica shows conservative Christians are embracing green building Washington Post Retrieved April 21 2016 Almendarez Julie December 17 2022 The giant ark was just the start Tower dorms school coming to NKY Ashland Times Gazette p B4 Timber Grant s Ark Park is a go The Messenger Madisonville Kentucky January 31 2013 5 Must See New Architecture Projects For 2016 The Urban Developer January 19 2016 Retrieved June 8 2016 Walsh Sarah June 10 2016 Former president Jimmy Carter visits planned Ark Encounter theme park in Kentucky WCPO Cincinnati Retrieved July 13 2016 A flagship for a biblical worldview The Washington Post July 8 2016 Law Jeannie January 26 2016 Ken Ham s Ark Encounter to Host Millions of Visitors in 40 Days 40 Nights Opening Christian Post Retrieved May 10 2016 Wartman Scott July 5 2016 Thousands descend on rural Ky town to board ark Cincinnati Enquirer Retrieved July 6 2016 Engel Liz July 14 2016 Repeat business key to Ark Encounter success Can attraction keep people coming back WCPO Retrieved July 14 2016 Atheist Group s Anti Ark Encounter Billboard Rejected ABC News Associated Press May 11 2016 Archived from the original on May 12 2016 Retrieved May 11 2016 Hansel Mark July 9 2016 Ark Encounter protesters and supporters share common ground in an unlikely place The Northern Kentucky Tribune Retrieved July 11 2016 Contrera Jessica July 10 2016 Bill Nye Visited a Noah s Ark He Doesn t Believe Should Exist The Washington Post Retrieved July 11 2016 Nye Bill amp Ham Ken March 13 2017 Nye Ham The Second Debate Premiere video 117 04 YouTube Nye Bill amp Ham Ken March 13 2017 Nye Ham The Second Debate Premiere video 11 43 YouTube Addiego Walter November 17 2017 The evolution of the science guy The San Francisco Chronicle Public schools warned about taking field trips to Noah s Ark park kentucky com Retrieved July 13 2016 Associated Press WCPO Staff July 12 2016 Noah s Ark Ark Encounter Answers in Genesis Public schools warned against visiting Noah s ark attraction in N Kentucky WCPO Cincinnati Retrieved July 13 2016 Lotus Tom July 13 2016 Can public schools take field trip to ark park Courier Journal Blackford Linda July 14 2016 Ark park offers 1 admission to public school kids after field trip warning Lexington Herald Leader a b Protesters gather at Ark Encounter on anniversary Grant County News and Express July 11 2018 Wartman Scott December 23 2016 Kentucky Ark Builder Wants to Take Rainbow Back USA Today Retrieved January 17 2017 Ham Ken February 3 2017 We re Keeping the Rainbow at the Ark Encounter Answers in Genesis Retrieved February 5 2017 Eads Morgan July 23 2017 A Christian Theme Park Claims It Is Taking Back the Rainbow From the LGBTQ Community The Sacramento Bee Retrieved July 26 2017 Puckett Jeffrey Lee July 20 2017 Ark Encounter Thrills Gay Nation With Rainbow Light Display Twitter Explodes The Courier Journal Retrieved July 26 2017 a b c Ark celebrates 2nd year eyes expansion Grant County News and Express July 18 2018 Ark Encounter building expansion to host larger events WLWT TV November 14 2017 Retrieved November 17 2017 Caleb Parke January 11 2019 Ken Ham offers free admission to schools after atheist group warns against Ark Encounter field trips Fox News Retrieved January 11 2019 Noah s Ark park battles advocacy group over public school field trip visits Associated Press via The Washington Times January 20 2019 Retrieved January 20 2019 a b Wolfson Andrew May 25 2019 Owners of biblical replica of Noah s ark sue over rain damage and it wasn t even 40 days and 40 nights The Louisville Courier Journal Retrieved May 26 2019 a b Rosenberg Eli Heller Karen May 25 2019 Lawyers for Noah s Ark theme park are suing its insurance company for rain damage Washington Post Retrieved May 26 2019 Owners of Kentucky s Noah s Ark Attraction Sue Over Flooding Damage The Weather Channel Retrieved May 26 2019 Ladd Sarah August 28 2020 Northern Kentucky s Ark Encounter and insurance settle lawsuit over rain damage The Courier Journal Retrieved September 7 2020 a b c Chisenhall Jeremy April 8 2020 Ark Encounter goes green to show compassion for Kentucky coronavirus victims Lexington Herald Leader Retrieved April 11 2020 a b c d Marshall Bryan May 27 2020 Ark Encounter to reopen June 8 The Grant County News Retrieved August 21 2020 Behrens Cole June 6 2020 Ark Encounter and Creation Museum reopening Monday What you need to know The Cincinnati Enquirer Retrieved September 8 2020 Chisenhall Jeremy May 21 2020 Kentucky Ark Encounter will reopen June 8 with new safety guidelines CEO says Lexington Herald Leader Retrieved January 23 2021 Law Jeannie August 22 2020 Ark Encounter gearing up to host massive 2021 Christian music festival lasting 40 days 40 nights The Christian Post Retrieved September 7 2020 Brookbank Sarah August 19 2020 Ark Encounter hosting 40 Days and 40 Nights of Gospel Music in 2021 The Cincinnati Enquirer Retrieved September 7 2020 Ark Encounter s New 3M Virtual Reality Attraction Takes Visitors Back in Time to Witness the Flood August 26 2020 Retrieved May 28 2021 a b Ark Encounter marks fifth anniversary with record crowds announcement of new attractions to come Northern Kentucky Tribune Retrieved July 10 2021 Noah s Ark park seeks expansion with new religious exhibit Associated Press July 7 2021 Retrieved July 10 2021 Mitchell Bea July 12 2021 Ark Encounter expanding with Tower of Babel attraction Blooloop Retrieved July 14 2021 Smith Lawrence July 16 2021 Ark Encounter planning to add Tower of Babel attraction to tackle issue of racism WDRB Retrieved July 18 2021 Malado Jardine September 22 2016 Ray Comfort s The Atheist Delusion movie to premiere at Ark Encounter in October The Christian Times Retrieved November 19 2016 Zaimov Stoyan October 27 2016 Ken Ham Celebrates 400K Visitors to Ark Encounter Says He s on Mission With Ray Comfort to Reach Unbelievers The Christian Post Retrieved November 19 2016 a b Kelly Amanda December 6 2017 Crazy Train Ozzy Osbourne makes stop in Grant County Grant County News Retrieved December 11 2017 Kobin Billy February 26 2020 We Believe in Dinosaurs PBS documentary focuses on Kentucky s Ark Encounter The Courier Journal Louisville Kentucky Kobin Billy February 12 2020 We Believe in Dinosaurs PBS documentary focuses on Kentucky s Ark Encounter The Enquirer Retrieved December 11 2022 Best Religious Museum Readers vote Ark Encounter USA Today 10Best com Retrieved March 11 2020 Rice Briana February 28 2020 4 museums in and near Greater Cincinnati make USA TODAY s 10Best list The Cincinnati Enquirer Retrieved March 11 2020 Kumar Anugrah February 29 2020 Ark Encounter Creation Museum chosen as America s top religious museums The Christian Post Retrieved March 11 2020 Clabes Judy February 27 2023 The Ark Encounter is top reader s choice in poll for best religious museum in America NKY Tribune Retrieved April 3 2023 Ark Encounter Makes Enormous Impact in First Year Answers in Genesis July 6 2017 Retrieved July 9 2017 James Josh July 8 2017 Ark Encounter Protesters Mark One Year Anniversary WUKY Retrieved July 9 2017 Smith Lawrance July 6 2017 1 Year After Opening Ark Encounter s Attendance and Impact is Growing WDRB Retrieved July 9 2017 Smith Lawrence February 24 2017 Ark Encounter park bringing a flood of tourists to Grant County Kentucky WDRB Retrieved May 1 2017 The ark did exactly what it said it would do NKY Tourism Report Ark Encounter Kona Ice Honored The River City News March 23 2017 Retrieved May 18 2017 Ashwill Vickie May 16 2017 Ark Encounter helped tide of Northern Kentucky tourism rise in 2016 WCPO Retrieved May 18 2017 Weber Don June 6 2017 As One Year Anniversary Approaches Ark Encounter a Boon for Dry Ridge Hospitality Businesses Mayor Says Spectrum News Retrieved June 10 2017 a b Hotel development breaks ground in Dry Ridge Grant County News and Express July 18 2018 Knight Cameron July 5 2018 Ark Encounter reports 1 million visitors in second year Cincinnati Enquirer Retrieved July 30 2018 Novelly Thomas August 2 2018 Not as many people are flooding into Ark Encounter as projected Retrieved August 2 2018 Kelly Amanda Safety fee assessment projections fall short Grant County News Grant County News Retrieved November 15 2018 Wingfield Mark April 18 2021 Creationism is big business in Northern Kentucky Baptist News Global Retrieved April 30 2022 a b Embracing the Ark Incentives mean cheap jobs poor state image Lexington Herald Leader December 3 2010 a b Alford Roger May 20 2011 Noah s Ark theme park gets go ahead in Kentucky The Herald Dispatch Huntington WV Associated Press Retrieved October 7 2014 A costly modern Ark The Courier Journal Editorial Tysons Corner VA Gannett Company December 28 2010 Archived from the original on July 23 2012 Retrieved October 8 2014 a b c Blackford Linda June 2 2017 Town expected flood of business after Noah s Ark opened So far it s a trickle Lexington Herald Leader Retrieved June 3 2017 Williamstown plans to reject Noah s Ark tax exemption request Lexington Herald Leader June 29 2017 Retrieved July 25 2017 a b c d e f Blackford Linda July 25 2017 After months of disagreement Noah s Ark operators say they will pay safety tax Lexington Herald Leader Retrieved July 25 2017 Ark Encounter requests safety fee exemption Grant County News June 28 2017 Retrieved July 25 2017 a b c d Safety fee still bringing revenue to Williamstown Grant County News and Express February 5 2020 a b c Blackford Linda July 24 2017 After state suspends tax break Noah s Ark park transfers land back to for profit entity Lexington Herald Leader Retrieved July 24 2017 Grant County News and Express Grant County News and Express December 13 2017 a b Blackford Linda September 7 2017 Noah s Ark theme park getting 1 8 million state tax rebate after first year Lexington Herald Leader Retrieved September 7 2017 a b c Group opposes tax incentives for Noah s Ark park Associated Press State Wire August 23 2014 Archived from the original on June 12 2018 Retrieved June 11 2018 Costello Carol June 21 2016 Kentucky s magnificent controversial ark CNN Retrieved July 15 2016 No more state aid for Ark Park Lexington Herald Leader Lexington Kentucky August 27 2014 Retrieved April 29 2017 Blackford Linda B October 8 2014 Ark tax incentives in limbo over hiring Lexington Herald Leader Blackford Linda B December 11 2014 State denies 18M in incentive Lexington Herald Leader Lovan Dylan December 10 2014 Kentucky No tax breaks for Noah s Ark project Associated Press State Wire Retrieved June 11 2018 Tax Breaks Are Withdrawn For Park That s Site of a New Noah s Ark The New York Times Associated Press December 11 2014 Retrieved June 11 2018 Baker Nantz Jaime December 18 2014 Ark isn t sunk it s happening The Messenger Madisonville Kentucky a b AiG to file discrimination suit against Kentucky WHAS February 3 2015 Loftus Tom June 16 2015 Noah s Ark park moves ahead with or without state help The Messenger Madisonville Kentucky Williams Chris November 12 2015 Ky lawmaker supports Ark Encounter tax breaks WHAS Retrieved June 11 2018 Lovan Dylan January 25 2016 Ark Encounter Builder Wins Legal Battle Over Tax Incentive WPCO com Retrieved February 1 2016 Caproni Erin January 26 2016 Judge Rules on Ark Encounter Incentives Cincinnati Business Courier Retrieved February 1 2016 Blackford Linda B April 27 2016 Noah s Ark park State awards 18 million tax break to theme park Lexington Herald Leader Retrieved June 11 2018 Lovan Dylan April 14 2016 Noah s Ark job float your boat Then you must be Christian Associated Press State Wire Retrieved June 11 2018 External links EditOfficial website Media related to Ark Encounter at Wikimedia Commons Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Ark Encounter amp oldid 1171737550, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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