QUIRK: Johan's Ark, a Museum That Follows Biblical Proportions | Sojourners

QUIRK: Johan's Ark, a Museum That Follows Biblical Proportions

Photo by Michel Porro/Getty Images
Johan Huibers' stand in front of his 70-metre-long Noah's Ark replica.Photo by Michel Porro/Getty Images

A wealthy Dutchman builds a replica of Noah’s Ark, following the measurements outlined in the book of Genesis.

Johan Huibers, who lives in the Dutch town Dordrecht recently opened a public “Bible museum,” inside his 300-cubit wooden vessel. The massive boat, known as “Johan’s Ark,” not only includes life-size plastic animals, but also a theater, restaurant, sleeping quarters, and conference facilities large enough to seat 1,500 guests.

He tells CNN that inspiration for the project came in 1992, after the low-lying Netherlands were flooded by the North Sea. "The next day I bought a book about Noah's Ark. That night while sitting on the couch with my kids, I looked at it and said: 'It's what we're going to do,'" reports CNN.

Huibers constructed a half-scale model in 2004, which was later used to take tourists on canal trips. But in 2008, he began work on a full-scale replica that has finally come to completion. Though, unfortunately, because no one really knows what “gopher wood” is, Huiber has constructed his ark using metal barges and Scandinavian pine.   

READ THE STORY AND SEE THE PICTURES VIA CNN