Noah’s Ark Replica Completed
Though only one fifth the size of the ship described in the scriptures (by volume), Johan Huiber’s re-creation is finally complete after two years of labor, and by all accounts, is very impressive. By the biblical measurements, Johan’s fully functional ark is 150 cubits long, 30 cubits high and 20 cubits wide–two-thirds the length of a football field and as high as a three-story house! Huibers still hopes to build a full sized replica in the future–”In Manhattan,” he said. “But right now that’s just in my head.”
Built in Schagen, 45 km North of Amsterdam, the ark is calibrated to be able to pass under every bridge and through every sluice along his planned sailing route, through the interior waters of the Netherlands to the country’s big cities. He plans to set sail in September 2007 - displaying the ark as a combination religious monument, museum, and petting zoo.
Like Noah in the Bible, many people thought he was crazy and his wife one time wondered, “why don’t you just go build wells in Ethiopia?” Based on Huiber’s creationist convictions however, it was the replica of Noah’s ark that held his heart. With support from his 17 year old son, and eventual support from his wife, he built the vessel by hand. Townsfolk in Schagen frequently stopped by to wave hello or just gawk at the huge wooden ship as it neared completion in the town’s small harbour.
Huibers said he hopes the project will renew interest in Christianity in the Netherlands. “That’s my motivation.”
Huibers will charge admission, $2.40 for children and $3.60 for adults. The price will include a tour, a drink, and a religious pamphlet–a token fee by all standards.
Johan says, “At least a hundred thousand people will have to visit to call it a success,” he says. “Do you believe they will? I do.” Huibers has already convinced his fussiest critics: the bankers, who provided loans. Johan’s Ark will meet all naval, fire and animal rights regulations.
Life-size models of giraffes, elephants, lions, crocodiles, zebras, bison and other animals greet visitors as they arrive in the main hold.
“The design is by my wife, Bianca,” Huibers said. “She didn’t really want me to do this at all, but she said if you’re going to anyway, it should look like this.”
Huibers’ vision is more modest. He plans to stock his ark with a collection of farmyard animals such as horses, lambs, chickens and rabbits, plus an exhibition on more exotic creatures.
He hopes to set sail in September - displaying the ark as a combination religious monument, museum, and petting zoo.
“This will speak very much to children, because it will give them something tangible to see that Noah’s Ark really existed,” Huibers says. “They’ll hear the creak of the wood, smell the smell of the dung.”
Huiber’s accomplishment creates a wonderful opportunity to bring a message of hope and faith to the large cities of his nation where awareness of God and the story of salvation in Christ has all but faded from view.
First day reaction was captured in a CNN article: …
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.”
In fact, Noah’s Ark as described in the Bible was five times larger than Johan’s Ark.
But that still leaves enough space near the keel for a 50-seat film theater, where kids can watch the segment of the Disney film “Fantasia” that tells the story of Noah.
Another exhibit shows water cascading down on a model of the ark. Exhibits on the third level show ancient tools and old-fashioned barrels, exotic stuffed animals, and a wax model of an exhausted Noah reclining on a bed in the forecastle.