Creation Museum officials say funds in place to start building Noah's Ark theme park | The Courier-Journal | courier-journal.com

The recent debate must have been a cash-cow for Ham. But when the Ark sinks, just like the museum is doing now, who will be to blame?

The creators of Northern Kentucky’s controversial Creation Museum say enough money has been raised to proceed with a new biblical theme park built around a 510-foot replica of Noah’s Ark.

Ken Ham, the president of Answers in Genesis who gained national attention earlier this month after a debate with Bill Nye the Science Guy, said that after a recent bond offering “the funding is in place” to start building the “Ark Encounter” park on an 800-acre site in Grant County, Ky.

The Ark’s website says it has raised $14.4 million in private donations toward the $24.5 million needed to build the ark alone as part of a theme park that is expected to cost more than $120 million. The complete first phase totals more than $70 million, and officials said they sold most of the $62 million in municipal bonds offered to investors.

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But Josh Rosenau, policy director for the California-based National Center for Science Education, said the Ark park is objectionable because it displays “a false account of world history and biology” and presents it “as if it were fact.”

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Late last year, the city of Williams­town, where the park would be located, helped by offering $62 million in municipal bonds on behalf of the Christian group. The city isn’t responsible for repaying the unsecured bonds, which would come from park revenues. Partly because of a lackluster response, the sale was extended in December.

Mike Zovath, the Ark project coordinator, said the minimum amount was sold, which constituted most of the bonds, and AiG purchased some. They did not provide exact figures.

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Earlier this year, Bloomberg News reported that the Ark project was drawing comparisons to tourist attractions from Alabama to Nebraska that have defaulted on such bonds, and noted that it came with the added risk of legal challenges from those who believe the religious themes may violate the Constitution.

Creation Museum officials say funds in place to start building Noah's Ark theme park | The Courier-Journal | courier-journal.com