Johan Huibers and the amazing Noah's Ark project

A couple of days ago I received the following in an email, and I felt that it was such an amazing thing that I just had to share it with you, dear reader. Dutchman, Johan Huibers, has built a working replica of Noah's Ark to half the size of the scale given in the Bible which you can visit in SCHAGEN, Holland. He is currently in the process of constructing a full-size ark which he plans to exhibit around the world.


Visitors on the first day that the Ark was opened to the public were stunned. 'It's beyond 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! '

Life-sized models of giraffes, elephants, lions, crocodiles, zebras, bison and other animalsgreet visitors as they arrive in the main hold.

Huibers did the work mostly with his own hands, using modern tools and with occasional help from his son Roy. Construction began in May 2005. There is to be a petting zoo on the uncovered top deck  with baby lambs and chickens, and goats, and one camel.

The 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.

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.

There is enough space near the keel for a 50-seat film theater where kids can watch a video that tells the story of Noah and his ark. Huibers, a Christian man, said he hopes the project will renew interest in Christianity in the Netherlands, where church going has fallen dramatically in the past 50 years.

The picture below shows Johan Huibers, photographed against the the background showing with the massive Ark which he believes he was led to build as a testimony to both the current and future generations.

The massive central door in the side of Noah's Ark was opened and the first crowd of curious townsfolk beheld the wonder. This replica of the biblical Ark was built by Dutch Creationist Johan Huibers as a testament to his faith in the literal truth of the Bible.

Even when I am old and grey, do not forsake me, O God, till I declare Your power to the next generation, Your might to all who are to come.

Psalm 71:18 (NIV)