Man Builds Noah's Ark (exact scale given in Bible)

Working Replica of Noah's Ark Opened In

SCHAGEN, Netherlands . The  massive

central door in the side of Noah's Ark was

opened the first crowd of curious townsfolk to

behold the wonder. Of course, it's 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.

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. Life-size

models of giraffes, elephants, lions,

crocodiles, zebras, bison and other animals

greet visitors as they arrive in the main ho ld.

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 with 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, and 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.' 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.

Now that I am old and gray...give me the time to tell this new generation (and their children too) about all your mighty miracles. Psalm 71:18