$100 Million Noah's Ark Attraction with Zip Line Spurs Protests

According to the Ark Encounter website, the attraction is 510 feet long, 85 feet wide and 51 feet high—that's a football-field-and-a-half long and seven stories tall. Inside, visitors can peruse exhibits to learn about Noah, the builder of the ark who, according to the Bible, received a warning from God about a global flood. They can also survey cages of animal replicas, including dinosaurs and a pair of unicorns, and outside, check out a zoo with live animals and a zip line.

According to NPR, the attraction cost $100 million to build and will bring up to 2 million visitors a year, plus millions in tourism revenue.

Members of the Tri-State Freethinkers, an activist group representing people in Kentucky, Indiana and Ohio who champion secularism, stood near the exit for Route 36 in Williamstown waving signs that read, "A taxpayer-funded flood of ignorance. What a disaster!" and "Instead of forcing your kids to learn your version of the truth … teach critical thinking instead."

Callie Wright is the LGBTQ ambassador for Tri-State Freethinkers. She tells Broadly protestors were there to voice their concerns about the violation of the separation of church and state. The ministry that built the ark, Answers in Genesis is receiving tax breaks worth up to $18 million, even though the attraction is for profit. Tickets are $28 for children and $40 for adults.

In the weeks leading up the Ark Encounter's opening, the Freethinkers and the ministry engaged in a billboard war. The Freethinkers raised $10,000 for a billboard with the words, "Genocide and Incest Park: Celebrating 2,000 years of myths." The ministry put up billboards with the message, "To all of our intolerant liberal friends, thank God you can't sink this ship."

Another issue for the Freethinkers is that Ark Encounter employees have to adhere to a moral code and sign a statement professing their Christianity.

"Answers in Genesis created a for-profit corporation to run this Ark Encounter, but they're claiming their religious exemptions to discriminate against gay people," Wright says. "We're here to be visible as the opposition to let people know this isn't OK. They've made it very clear that as a queer and transgender person, I am not welcome there."

Jim Helton, president of Tri-StateFreethinkers, tells Broadly he believes they've accomplished their goal today. "We know the creationists are going to go there, and we're not trying to impede them. But the average parents will go, 'Oh, there's a cool boat here, let's just go.' And they don't realize that they're actually denying evolutionary science. They don't realize that. We are educating them, and they can decide if this is a place they want to bring their kids."