Let’s Sink “Bathtub” Arks!

Now why would I say that? After all, there are bathtub ark models in gift stores all over the world, and arks overloaded with land animals—including giraffes with their necks sticking out the chimney—looking like they’re about to sink at any moment. They are a staple of children’s books and some illustrated Bibles.

Well, when I became a public school science teacher in Australia in 1975, during my first science class, students asked me how I could be a Christian and believe the Bible. I asked why, and they responded that, because of the evolutionary teaching in their textbooks, the Bible couldn’t be true. One student added, “Noah couldn’t fit the animals on the ark anyway!”

Over the 45 years I’ve been involved in the creation-apologetics ministry, I have learned that people all over the world have many of the same basic questions about the book of Genesis. But one that has come up over and over again is, “How could Noah fit all the animals on the ark?” Also, time and time again, I’ve seen atheists mock the Bible’s account of the ark and flood because they claim Noah couldn’t fit the animals on board. This issue has been a stumbling block for many young people in the church. And, sadly, many were not given the answers they needed.

That is one of the reasons AiG built a life-size Ark: to help everyone understand the enormous size of Noah’s ark.

That is one of the reasons AiG built a life-size Ark: to help everyone understand the enormous size of Noah’s ark. We installed many exhibits to answer questions like “How could the animals fit?” as well as many others. For example, did you know Noah only needed representatives of each kind (in most cases, the level of family in our modern classification system) of land-dwelling, air-breathing animals on the ark, not every species? Many species have arisen (and that is not evolution) within each kind since the animal kinds came off the ark after the flood. There was plenty of room on the ark for the under 7,000 animals Noah needed to take with him.

One day, I was on one of the buses that transports people the one mile from the parking lot to the life-size Ark at our Ark Encounter attraction in Kentucky. As the bus rounded the corner and people suddenly saw the Ark, a little boy yelled out, “Wow! It’s so big. Noah could fit the animals on that Ark.”

Now, our life-size Ark is built to the dimensions given in the Bible. It’s 510 feet long, 85 feet wide, and 51 feet high. Yes, it’s an enormous ship. And it really helps people see how Noah could fit all the land animal kinds on board.

Now, when you look at the bathtub arks we are so familiar with, they really make the account of the ark and flood look like a fairytale. Yes, they may look cute, but we live at a time when the Bible’s account of creation and the flood are attacked and mocked by the world. We need to be extra careful to teach children the account in Genesis as literal history. And when you understand that many children and young people have been troubled by the question of how Noah could fit the animals on the ark, we need to realize that it’s important to give them the answers they need. And this means showing Noah’s ark as the big ship it was.

When you look at the bathtub arks we are so familiar with, they really make the account of the ark and flood look like a fairytale.

Not only that, but most of these bathtub ark pictures have modern species crowded on them. This gives people a totally wrong view of biological history concerning the animals. Land animal kinds were on the ark that gave rise to today’s species. We need to illustrate such events carefully and accurately, based on a correct understanding of Scripture and science. That’s why we have an exhibit at the Ark Encounter warning people about these bathtub arks.

If the devil can get our kids to doubt the ark and flood account, why not doubt—and eventually disbelieve—the rest? And that has happened to so many people we’ve lost from the church. I believe we need to get rid of the bathtub arks and teach the truth concerning the details given in Scripture about the ark Noah constructed some 4,300 years ago.

Let’s sink the bathtub arks once and for all!

Oh, and plan your visit to see the life-size Ark Encounter in person—kids 10 and under are free in 2023. Seeing and touring the Ark really can make a big impact on children! Visit ArkEncounter.com.

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,
Ken

This item was written with the assistance of AiG’s research team.