Noah's Ark opens in Kentucky

A Christian center in the United States has restored a large replica of Noah's Ark and opened it to the public as an amusement park.

This 155-meter-long replica ship was built by the Genesis Christian Center.

Followers of this Christian center believe that the story of Noah, narrated in the Bible, the Christian holy book, is true and is based on a historical event.

The builders of the ship say they even calculated its dimensions based on biblical data: 155 meters long, 26 meters wide, and 15 meters high.

Ken Ham, secretary general of the Answers to Genesis Association, said that Noah's Ark cost $100 million to build.

Inside the ark are replicas of animals and Noah's family based on the religious beliefs and perceptions of the Genesis group.

There are even replicas of dinosaurs on this ship because the followers of this Christian group believe that all creatures, even dinosaurs, were created by 'God' about 6,000 years ago.

This is despite scientists saying that dinosaurs became extinct about 65 million years ago, before the human species appeared on Earth.

The construction of this massive replica has been the source of much controversy in the state of Kentucky over the past few years.

Critics of its construction say that since the hypotheses behind the project contradict accepted scientific theories, the government should not have considered tax exemption for it.

The project received a tax break worth $18 million in 2014.

This tax exemption exempts the Genesis Institute from paying taxes on ticket sales to visitors to the project (during its construction period).

But this exemption was temporarily revoked after it became clear that Genesis intended to recruit only Christians to manage the recreation center. However, when Genesis appealed again, the court ruled in favor of the religious center.

However, critics have told the Associated Press that exempting Answers to Genesis from taxes contradicts the principle of separation of religion and politics in America.

Jim Helton, a critic of Noah's Ark who lives a short distance from it, believes: "Simply put, the church is behind this ark, telling 'lies' to children who don't yet have sufficient knowledge about science."

Bill Nye, a prominent science news figure, is one of the most vocal critics of the project, and his face-to-face debate with Ken Ham, the general secretary of Answers in Genesis, in 2014, which was broadcast on YouTube, attracted an estimated 5 million viewers.

Immediately after the debate, Mr. Ham announced that the amount of funding for the project had increased to $64 million, a budget that accelerated the pace of construction of Noah's Ark.

The creators of Noah's Ark have said they expect to attract two million visitors in the first year after its opening.

Source: BBC