Avoid Arc Encounter: 3 Kentucky Attractions to Visit Instead

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I don’t usually write smear blog posts. In fact, 99.999999% of the time, I like to believe that there is a least one small redeemable thing about any and every travel destination or attraction. Until now, I thought there was only one exception to that mindset, but now I have unfortunately found another. The Arc Encounter in Williamstown, Kentucky.

Honestly, that’s the end of the post.

Just…don’t go.

But if you’re curious as to why, I can also go on. Y’all know I love a good story. But please, I beg, do not judge me for unknowingly visiting this attraction. May it serve as a cautionary tale so you may all learn from my mistakes.

What is Arc Encounter

Like many Americans, and moths, I am drawn to large bright things. Lamps, staring at the sun, and random oversized roadside attractions. So, it’s not really a surprised that when I heard about a giant TO-SCALE replica of Noah’s Arc – THE Noah’s Arc – my interest was peaked. Sure, I’m not the most religious person in my day to day, but I know the story of Noah and his large arc. I figured the attraction would center around Noah’s religious adventures and maybe the context of the arc during that time period.

I both under and overestimated Arc Encounter.

But I’m getting ahead of myself. Arc Encounter, by its own accounts, is a Christian “young Earth creationist” theme park that opened in 2016. Momentarily tabling the first red flag, Arc Encounter is built as a full-sized arc based on the dimensions provided in the Genesis flood story in the Bible, a whopping 510 ft long, 85 ft wide, and 51 ft high. For the rest of the world, that’s 155m long, 26m wide, and 15.5m high.

It’s absolutely massive.

It was founded by Ken Ham, CEO of Answers in Genesis…which I will have to save for later. As an attraction, visitors are able to go inside the giant arc and see different exhibitions that talk about how the arc was presumably constructed, what the animal enclosures and human bedrooms would have looked like, and also some Earth creationist viewpoints on the science around the flood and climate change – or rather lack thereof.

Getting ahead of myself again.

Going into this experience however, I didn’t even know all of that. All I knew was: big boat, and that was enough to incite me. I consider myself an extremely open individual, perhaps arguably too open at times, and I love learning about religions and the anthropology behind them, regardless and sometimes BECAUSE OF how different they are from my own. But I really…in a million years…couldn’t have expected the Arc Encounter.

The Logistics

The first thing I underestimated: the PRICE. But yanno, everyone has a different budget, maybe I’m just broke idk, but I’ll just list the info here.

• Attraction: Arc Encounter
• Location: Williamstown, KY 41097
• Distance from: Cincinnati – 40min, Lexington – 46min, Louisville -1h30min,
• Hours: Monday-Saturday 10am-6pm, closed Sundays
• Price: Adult (ages 18–59) $59.95 plus tax
• Parking: $15

SIXTY DOLLARS?!?!?! TO WALK IN A BUILDINGGGGG. PLUS PARKING!?!?!?

I should’ve left there. I almost did actually, but we had driven all the way from Louisville on our way to West Virginia so eh, I foolishly accepted the L and paid for admission.

My Experience

Once you park and make your way through the gates, you’ll see that Arc Encounter has a few buildings surrounding the actual arc. There’s a playground, a mini zoo, ziplines ($59-$139 additional), and an auditorium where speakers, conferences, and events are held.

Anyways, we went inside and the first level of the arc just introduces you to the construction of the arc, how the animals might’ve been stored (and might’ve looked like), and how the storage and logistics of living in an arc would work like sewage, air, and water filtration. That level was all very interesting and I liked seeing that interpretation of how Noah’s Arc might have functioned. If the entire arc would have been centered around that, then maybe I would have had a more neutral (unimpressed but eh) experience.

The next floor, however, is where things started to go…in a different direction. The floor began answering pretty natural questions like “how did Noah fit all the animals of the WORLD into the arc” (their answer: he didn’t, but the ones he chose are the descendants of animals we see today). It also touched on Noah, his family, and their personal struggles in being selected by God and preparing for the flood.

Then…it morphed into the actual flood section. Again, a natural progression in storytelling, but it was the tone of the exhibits that started to ping in my brain. The exhibits showed images of people partying, having dinosaur gladiator battles (??), and engaging in (implied) lewd acts while the world burned around them. It represented how the world was full of sorrow, disease, bloodshed, MUSIC, and death because people were “Godless.” The following are not exact quotes, but so you get the gist of why they reasoned the flood (aka the consequences of peoples’ actions) was necessary.

“People are wicked unless they follow the truth”

“Does our current sin-filled world deserve to be judged any less?”

I mean…that wasn’t all thattt surprising, but it did connect the dots in my brain that related the very real life harm that could come from thinking “wicked people” who do not follow a specific religious doctrine deserve to be punished. Especially in the southern USA where voter suppression can lead to “wickedness” being determined by those in political power and not necessarily the beliefs of the general public.

But I digress.

Why I Got Heebie Jeebies

Honestly, even with the pearl clutching bit on the second deck, nothing was completely out of left field…until I got to deck three. And that’s when things at Arc Encounter really got…strange.

So, after all the talk about the flood on deck 2, the exhibits morph into what they interpret as happening after the flood, aka THE ice age. As in one ice age, because there couldn’t have been more than one because the Earth (according to dates in the Bible) is only about 6,000 years old in total. I personally don’t mind someone believing the Earth is only 6,000 years old, in the grand scheme of life…whatever as long as it’s not harming someone else…but…then it got into the topic of climate change.

Noah vs Science

There was literally an exhibit that was bashing Bill Nye the Science Guy (of all people??) and other “critics” (scientists) that research, study, and educate others on climate change. Apparently, the creator of Arc Encounter had a whole debate with Bill Nye when the science guy toured Arc Encounter – there’s a video on YouTube. It’s…hard to watch.

Granted, I’m not even sure Bill Nye is a climate scientist and there are probably more qualified people to speak on the topic, but blah blah tv impressions and all that. STILL, even then, it was hard to watch Ken Ham’s lack of reasoning beyond “it isn’t written in the Bible so that cannot be true. There wasn’t carbon dating in the Bible so that cannot be accurate.”

Which Boat is Bigger??

But EVEN THEN, climate change deniers are nothing new. The thing that got me tickled is the exhibition right after that talks about “flood legends from around the world.” There ARE stories of a great global flood in cultures all over the world, and while they may differ slightly, the basic story is still intact. You think that would point towards evidence that supports Noah’s Arc, but instead Arc Encounter uses the moment to discredit these “fantastical” stories??

Clearly truth and accuracy were not of great concern in these distortions of Noah’s Flood, however, as some aspects of these myths are quite absurd.

Arc Encounter Website

Mind you, the stories are all of someone building an arc so them and their family could survive a giant flood. So, if that’s too “absurd” then….

They also spent some time bashing Babylonian Epic of Gilgamesh, which is the oldest known recording of a global flood and dated older than the book of Genesis in the Bible. But, by Arc Encounter logic, since it was not written in the Bible, that story cannot be verified and must be fiction. They never do touch on the whole “incest” part of the story that would’ve been necessary to repopulate the Earth since they only take the Bible VERY literally.

The rest of the deck is an exhibit about religion (specifically, Young Earth Creationism) in the form of a comic where three friends in university talk about existentialism as it comes to religion. It was, no pun intended, very preachy, but also I felt like there were parts that contradicted itself? It was even going in on Christianity – like man, it’s truly Young Earth Creationism OR THE HIGHWAY for this attraction. I wish I had taken more pictures, because this panel absolutely floored me hahahah

Controversy Around Arc Encounter

I was just gonna chalk up the Arc Encounter to being a overly zealous -but ultimately underwhelming- religious attraction, which to be fair I should have expected. I expected the whole thing to be bonkers, and it delivered on that end, but I didn’t expect it to be bonkers SINISTERLY. Then I saw the last little section that outlined the Arc Encounter’s journey to opening.

Specifically, I saw a panel that illuded to ATHEISTS and others opposing Arc Encounter and some kind of vague controversy. So, naturally as the nosy messy duck I am, I had to look into it.

Y’ALLLLLLL.

THE THINGS I UNCOVEREDDDD ABOUT THIS PLACE!!!!!!!! Arc Encounter is actually a horrible attraction from a moral standpoint. I am truly baffled how Arc Encounter is even LEGALLY operational…There’s a lot to unpack and I implore you to google it after you finish this blog post, but the quick summary:

• This religious endeavor received $43.1 million in tax incentives (how is that legal??) WITHOUT a feasibility study (????) and then under-delivered by more than 50% of its promises for tourism and economic return
• They have discriminatory hiring practices (how is that legal??)
• Not ADA compliant (how is this legal??)
• They block other Christian groups from asking genuine questions on their social media pages

And of course, because I’m petty…some other grievances I experienced…

• Bad chai lattes
• Horrible crowd control
• Bad lighting on the exhibits
• Dismissive customer service

Things to Do Instead of Arc Encounter

If I’m being completely frank, Arc Encounter isn’t even a religious experience if that’s what you’re looking for. And I’m all for religious attractions, I literally visited the Baptism Site of Jesus H Christ. Buuuut yes yes I know, not all of us can fly to Jordan and Palestine on a whim. But don’t settle for Arc Encounter.

If you are just looking for interesting and unique things to do around Kentucky, here are a few options that are WAY BETTER AND MORE ETHICAL than Arc Encounter.

• Adult Wilderness Camp: If you’re looking to reconnect with nature, destress, make new friends, or all of the above, keep an eye out for Adult Wilderness Camp! You get to relive the experience of childhood sleepaway camp, but now as an all-inclusive adult’s only version!
• The Ideal Bartender Experience: Along with tasting, making, and touring an incredible Kentucky bourbon, you get to learn about Tom Bullock – the first Black American to write and publish a cocktail book. It’s such a fascinating and criminally under told piece of history!
• Louisville Walking Food Tour: And of course, you know I love a good food tour! This one takes place in Louisville which really surprised me with how tasty everything was!

Conclusion

Do not go.

Pin this Notice About the Arc Encounter

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