We live a little less than 2 hours from the Ark Encounter and it’s always been a family bucket list item to go to it, but it just hasn’t happened until this past Spring break! I asked the kids if they would like to go to the Zoo or the Ark Encounter and they picked the Ark Encounter. We picked a BEAUTIFUL (but windy) day to go and made the drive with no problem. Well, the only problem was that I got about 20 minutes down the road when I realized that I had forgotten to grab the lunches that I spent all morning packing. I debated just leaving them and buying food there, but decided to turn around and grab them. So 40 minutes later we were back on track and headed to the Ark – with lunches this time!
We arrived and parked, then gathered all of our stuff and got in line to buy tickets. The parking lot is about a mile away from the actual ark, so the only way to get there is on the shuttle buses. The buses run every few minutes, so I don’t think there is ever a very long line. We got our tickets (Adults- $58, kids under 10- free!) and hopped onto a shuttle bus. I think this may have been Ezra’s favorite part of the day haha.
Once the shuttle dropped us off, I needed a moment to collect myself and figure out where I was going. There is obviously the big giant ark, but then there are several buildings – a conference type building, a theatre, a playground area, a couple restaurants, a small zoo, a petting zoo, and then the ark. We decided to head to the ark first.
The size of the ark really is amazing. It truly makes the Bible story that we have read so many times comes more alive. The kids were really enthralled just by the size of it, as was I!
The ark is laid out so that you entire it, then walk along a marked pathway through three levels. There is room to go backwards, but mostly the flow of the crowd is in one direction. On the first level, there is a lot of animal exhibits. It shows how the food and water would have been stored, what the cages may have looked like, what animals would have been on the ark, etc. There are no live animals in that part of the ark, and there is really only a sampling of the kinds of animals that would have been there. They focused heavily on extinct animals that were probably on the ark, like dinosaurs. There were sound effects and the ark was dimly lit like it probably would have been in reality.
The second level had a lot more visual displays of the layout of the ark, how the ark was built, how it floated on the water, what was probably on the ark and not on the ark. The displays also focused a lot on the whole Bible- there was a section on the creation of the world, then a section on the fall and the wickedness of man. There was a section on God’s redemptive story throughout the Old Testament, and there was a section on the New Testament as well. There was a section on mission work from the Bible to now. So it wasn’t just all about the ark.
The third floor showed what the living quarters may have looked like and how the people on board cooked, socialized and worked.
The path throughout the ark had several rooms that you could step into and explore various themes. The kids loved this weird spooky “haunted house” type room and even asked to go back to it once we had done the whole ark. I HATE spooky things, but of course the kids loved it. It honestly wasn’t that scary- just dark and then there would be flash of light with a creepy noise.
This room kind of made me laugh. It had bookshelves full of books about Noah’s ark. And then it had plaques that said “THIS IS NOT ACCURATE. IT WAS NOT A CUTE STORY”. I felt a little judged, to be honest. Haha. Ezra was very confused because he wanted to look at the books. He did not get the point that those books are supposedly BAD. To him, they sure did look cute and fun to read! Lol.
The ark had SO MUCH on board. My biggest take away/review of the ark is this: IT IS A VISUAL EXPERIENCE. Yes, there are sounds as well, but for the most part the only sense that you will be using is VISUAL. So if you have a super tactile kid who wants to touch everything, or who learns by hearing or auditory, this place is not going to be their favorite. However, if you love the visual aspect of learning and know how to read and like to read- this place would be for you!
After walking around the ark (it took us about two hours), we headed outside for our picnic lunch. I only saw one restaurant open, but no one made any fuss about us bringing our packed lunches and there was lots of great picnic table space to eat at.
After lunch, we went to visit the zoo. I think calling it a “zoo” sets kids up for disappointment haha. There are about 7 animals, which is cool- but not if you are expecting THE ZOO. I have also heard people call it a petting zoo, which also didn’t seem true since the only animal that could be touched was the goats. Either way, we did enjoy walking through the “zoo” and looking at the animals. It took us about 20 minutes and then we were off to the playground! The playground was pretty cool, and even had a swing zipline thing that my kids really enjoyed. After about 30 minutes at the playground, I called it a day and we hopped back on the shuttle to head back to the parking lot.
My opinion on the ark is this:
I personally find it expensive. But I also find the zoo and Kings Island expensive haha. Theo didn’t go because we didn’t want to pay over $100 for something we weren’t too sure about. However, kids are FREE! So that was amazing and to get all four of us in for $58 really did feel like a deal. I think we would go back, but it will probably one of those “once every 3-5 years” type of outing
The ark itself was very visual. Lots of reading, lots to look at and see and take in. Not as much interactive tactile exhibits or audio exhibits (although I’m sure they have guided tours or special audio guides if you want to go for that type of thing)
I do feel like there was something for people of all ages. Even Ezra found lots of things to look at and keep his attention. Of course, his attention span would last no where near as long as someone older with great interest in reading every single label throughout the ark.
The content was cool but I feel like Answers in Genesis/The Creation Musuem/The Ark Encounter brings a lot of personal opinion into their museums and their work. There is a lot that the Bible doesn’t say that was a matter of opinion that was included in the Ark. I don’t necessarily think they are WRONG, I just feel like it’s good to have your own solid Biblical foundation/critical thinking before going in. It’s ok to not believe everything you see in there.
If you have any other specific questions about The Ark Encounter, feel free to reach out to me and I would be more than happy to answer!