Designs for Ark Encounter Project
Earlier this year, Ken Ham's Answers In Genesis ministry which works to promote creation science and fight against the growing popularity of evolution announced a plan to build a park in Kentucky which is centered around a life-size model of Noah's Ark. Ken Ham and Answers In Genesis had initially received a great deal of criticism from the local Kentucky community and scientists for this plan, but more recently some experts believe that this park may bring back a great deal of monetary profit to Kentucky.
One expert explained that the Noah's Ark park may accumulate as much as 18 million dollars in tourism incentives within the first three years of the opening of the park. He added that the profits will come by way of a state sales tax refund that would be received after the opening of the park. It is reported that the Kentucky Tourism Development Finance Authority has already given the ministry approval to start this Ark Encounter Project on the 29th of July.
This Ark Encounter is a major project of Answers In Genesis which was originally started by Ken Ham, a young earth creation scientist as a Christian apologetics organization. Answers In Genesis is also overseeing the famous Creation Museum in Petersburg.
In the early stages of planning for this massive undertaking, the organization was unable to start because they did not receive enough donations for the construction. By late December in 2011, they had only raised around 4.4 million dollars out of the necessary 24.5 million dollars.
