What Has Been the Most Important Impact of the Ark Encounter?

It only seems like a couple of years ago we decided to pursue building a life-size Noah’s Ark. But that was in 2004.

It only seems like yesterday when we opened the themed Ark Encounter attraction in Northern Kentucky. But that was 10 years ago on July 7 when it was officially opened to the public.

Yes, July 2026 is a great time of celebration for the 10-year anniversary of the opening of the Ark Encounter attraction.

Oh, there were battles and naysaying from Christians and non-Christians. We had a battle with the state of Kentucky and then-Governor Steve Beshear over tourism tax incentives, but the Lord enabled us to win that battle.

I had a number of Christians, including some Christian leaders, tell me we should have spent the money on proclaiming the gospel.

Well, the Ark Encounter, which teaches the gospel clearly through various exhibits, attracts many non-Christian visitors—they make up about 30% of its total visitors—and our extensive guest surveys reflect that an estimated 70,000+ people a year trust Christ for salvation as a result of their visit. I would call that a fantastic investment in people’s eternity!

A number of 2014–2016 articles questioned whether enough tourists would come, whether bonds would fail, whether taxpayers would be left holding debt, whether it would become an abandoned attraction. Various blogs and reviewers claimed the project would fail.

The most important impact has been the spiritual one, with so many each year becoming Christians after visiting the two leading Christian themed attractions in the world.

But 10 years later, millions have visited the Ark as well as AiG’s first attraction, the Creation Museum. Since the Creation Museum opened in 2007 and the Ark in 2016, around 16 million visitors have come to Kentucky to visit these world-class attractions. Many hotels have been built in the area, and having so many people visit has been a financial boon for tourism in Northern Kentucky. The impact on businesses in Northern Kentucky has been phenomenal.

But the most important impact has been the spiritual one, with so many each year becoming Christians after visiting the two leading Christian themed attractions in the world.

When we opened the Ark Encounter, a small group of atheists gathered outside the gates to protest the opening of a private facility, on private land, built by private funding! They had done the same when we opened the Creation Museum in 2007.

It’s a reminder of how intolerant such people are. They don’t want Christians having the ability to get the message of God’s Word and the gospel out publicly. They want to impose their anti-God religion of atheism on the culture.

A handful of atheists continue to protest the Ark most years in July—a small sad group who need our prayers. Over the years, we have reached out to them in various ways. They are so lost. But I’ve met a number of people who have told me they were atheists who mocked our ministry but that after watching some of our videos, visiting our attractions, or reading our books, the Lord opened their hearts to the truth, and they became on-fire Christians.

As we celebrate the 10-year anniversary of the opening of the world’s leading Christian themed attraction, the Ark Encounter, I want to honor the late Patrick Marsh. God brought Patrick along to design the exhibits at the Creation Museum and then the Ark Encounter. Patrick had the God-given talents and experience to ensure the Ark and museum were very “Disneyesque” in quality.

There’s no doubt God brought Patrick to us to make these attractions world-class. And this year, we opened the new Welcome Center at the Ark. Patrick was working on the design of this center when the Lord took him to his heavenly home. Our designers honored Patrick in using his basic design for the construction of this fantastic addition to the Ark Encounter.

Also, we praise God for the Amish and Mennonite craftsmen who wanted to use their talents for this evangelistic project. A special thanks also to the late LeRoy Troyer, the architect the Lord raised up, who saw the Ark as fulfilling his life’s work and calling.

Thank you, Lord, for providing all the people you brought along to enable the vision for the Ark to become a reality. And we pray the spiritual impact of these attractions will only continue to grow so many more will know they will spend eternity with their Savior.

Congratulations to all involved in building the Ark Encounter.