Noah's Ark

Working Replica of Noah's Ark Opens
SCHAGEN, Netherlands

The massive central door in the side of Noah's Ark was thrown open Saturday, you could say it was the first time in 4,500 years, drawing a crowd of curious pilgrims and townsfolk to behold the wonder.

About 23 miles (45 kilometers) north of Amsterdam — built a colossal Ark that’s two-thirds the length of a football field and as high as a 3-story house, at 230 feet (70 meters) long, 31 feet (9.5 meters) wide and nearly 43 feet (13 meters) high. Johan’s Ark is a fifth of the size of Noah’s, based on the book of Genesis, carrying farmyard animals and life-size replicas of numerous creatures of the earth.

Of course, it is only a replica of the biblical Ark, built by Dutch Creationist Johan Huibers as a testament to his faith in the literal truth of the Bible.

Reckoning by the old biblical measurements, Johan's fully functional ark is 150 cubits long, 30 cubits high and 20 cubits wide. That's two-thirds the length of a football field and as high as a three-story house. Life-size models of giraffes, elephants, lions, crocodiles, zebras, bison and other animals greet visitors as they arrive in the main hold.

"The design is by my wife, Bianca," Huibers said. "She didn't really want me to do this at all, but she said if you're going to anyway, it should look like this."

A contractor by trade, Huibers built the ark of cedar and pine. Biblical Scholars debate exactly what the wood used by Noah would have been. Huibers did the work mostly with his own hands, using modern tools and occasional help from his son Roy. Construction began in May 2005. On the uncovered top deck - not quite ready in time for the opening - will come a petting zoo, with baby lambs and chickens, goats and one camel.

Visitors on the first day were stunned. "It's past comprehension," said Mary Louise Starosciak, who happened to be bicycling by with her husband while on vacation when they saw the ark looming over the local landscape. "I knew the story of Noah, but I had no idea the boat would have been so big."

In fact, Noah's Ark as described in the Bible was five times larger than Johan's Ark. But that still leaves enough space near the keel for a 50-seat film theater, where kids can watch the segment of the Disney film "Fantasia" that tells the story of Noah. Another exhibit shows water cascading down on a model of the Ark. Exhibits on the third level show ancient tools and old-fashioned barrels, exotic stuffed animals, and a wax model of an exhausted Noah reclining on a bed in the forecastle.

Genesis says Noah kept seven pairs of most domesticated animals and one breeding pair of all other creatures, plus his wife, three sons and three daughters-in-law together on the boat for almost a year while the world was deluged. Perhaps it was only logical that the replica project would be the brainchild of a Dutchman: fear of floods are ingrained in the country's collective consciousness by its water-drenched history.

Under sunny clear skies Saturday, Huibers said he wasn't worried about another biblical flood, since according to Genesis, the rainbow is the sign of God's promise never to flood the world again. But he does worry that recent events such as the flooding of New Orleans could be seen as a portent of the end time.

Huibers said he hopes the project will renew interest in Christianity in The Netherlands, where churchgoing has fallen dramatically in the past 50 years.

Life-like animals from Thailand and the Philippines fill the three levels of the Ark with giraffes, elephants, lions, crocodiles and zebras — all two-by-two. Arrangements are being made for some live animals to be present on the Ark in the future.

One section of the Ark will highlight various Bible stories including the open tomb of Jesus, the Ark of the Covenant, the story of Joseph, and a fishing boat which tells the story of Jesus and His disciples.

Church pews provide seating for 150 people in the movie theater. Johan claims that pews are plentiful in the Netherlands due to many churches closing.

Another area of the Ark includes a Bedouin tent which represents the dwelling place of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. According to Johan, the tent symbolizes hospitality.

Other features of the Ark include various computer games where children can learn more about the Ark and the Flood, and an area for coffee and snacks.