What Will Your First Reaction Be?

The Ark Encounter features our life-size Noah’s Ark, which was built according to the dimensions given in the Bible. Spanning 510 feet long, 85 feet wide, and 51 feet high, this modern engineering marvel amazes visitors, young and old.

In the video below, check out how some guests recently reacted to seeing the Ark for the first time!

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What will your first reaction be? Start planning your visit to the Ark Encounter today to see it for yourself! But, in the meantime, learn more about the biblical account of Noah’s ark below.

History of Noah’s Ark

Noah’s ark was a massive ship, built at God’s command, that saved Noah, his family, and representatives of every kind of land-dependent, air-breathing animal from the global flood that took place over 4,300 years ago.

The ark was 510 feet long, 85 feet wide, and 51 feet high, and it housed the several thousand animals God brought to Noah. The global flood lasted about one year. The ark came to rest on the “mountains of Ararat” (Genesis 8:4), and Noah’s family, with all the animals that were saved from the flood, eventually spread throughout the world.

Size of Noah’s Ark

Genesis describes the construction of the ark in three verses:

Make yourself an ark of gopher wood. Make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and out with pitch. This is how you are to make it: the length of the ark 300 cubits, its breadth 50 cubits, and its height 30 cubits. Make a roof for the ark, and finish it to a cubit above, and set the door of the ark in its side. Make it with lower, second, and third decks. (Genesis 6:14–16)

To understand the actual size of the ark, it’s important to know what a “cubit” is. A cubit is an ancient measurement of length based on the distance from the elbow to the tip of the longest finger. The actual length of a cubit varied between different ancient groups of people. Though the ark’s cubit length is uncertain, it may well have been one of the long or royal cubits (about 20.4–20.6 in.) since many ancient structures were built according to long cubits.

If so, the ark was bigger than the size described in most books today, which frequently mention a shorter cubit (if they even bother trying to be accurate). Based on a royal cubit on the short end of the spectrum (20.4 inches), the ark would have been 510 feet long, 85 feet wide, and 51 feet high.

For more information on the size of Noah’s ark, check out the article “How Long Is a Cubit?”

Help Us Make Lasting Impressions

Not only does the size of our life-size Noah’s Ark impress people, but so do our staff members! And right now, we are hiring seasonal help as we begin preparing for our busy season. Join us at Mt. Olivet Christian Church for our open interviews on the following days:

• Saturday, March 16, 2024: 10 a.m.–2 p.m.
• Thursday, June 13, 2024: 3 p.m.–6 p.m.
• Saturday, July 27, 2024: 10 a.m.–2 p.m.
• Thursday, October 10, 2024: 3–6 p.m.
• Saturday, November 9, 2024: 12–4 p.m.

Stop by Mt. Olivet Christian Church on the above dates to apply for a seasonal job, be interviewed, and potentially get offered a position—all on the same day! You can also apply online today.