The organization behind the Ark Encounter and Creation Museum is moving forward with plans to open a faith-based school for kids ages 5-17.
Answers in Genesis recently purchased the former Toyota North American engineering & manufacturing headquarters in Northern Kentucky for more than $31 million.
The 205,000-square-foot facility will house 450-500 K-12 students as well as be the location for the general staff of their Answers.TV streaming service.
“The purchase of this building will save the ministry many tens of millions of dollars for several planned future projects and allow them to be implemented much more quickly, instead of years down the road,” CEO Ken Ham said in a press release. “Overall, this facility will provide a home for Answers Academy without having to build a major school complex.”
The 30-year-old building has been vacant for about four years, the Cincinnati Business Courier reports.
According to the Link nKY, the Christian apologetics ministry has plans to move staff to the new building later next year – an expansion plan that reflects the organization’s popularity.
Earlier this year, the Ark Encounter and Creation Museum welcomed its 10 millionth guest.
“As Answers in Genesis continues to grow in many of its outreaches, including welcoming large crowds at our two attractions, the ministry will have an even larger economic impact on the region,” Ham said.
The Ark Encounter opened in 2016 in Williamstown, Kentucky, and was built according to the instructions God gave Noah in Genesis 6. The 10-story-high vessel features larger-than-life exhibits that bring museum visitors face to face with the story of biblical proportions.
“We all know that God’s the Great Designer. He’s the Great Engineer,” said Patrick Kanewske, the attraction’s media and ministry relations director. “It’s the perfect dimensions for seaworthiness, weight distribution, smoothness of ride.”
In 2020, the Ark Encounter was named the “Best Religious Museum” by USA Today.
The Ark’s sister institution, the Creation Museum also finished second that year in the national poll of museums selected by a panel of top travel experts.
As CBN News reported, the ministry is also moving forward with plans to construct a replica of the ancient Tower of Babel adjacent to the Ark Encounter.
According to the Answers in Genesis website, the purpose of this project is to “glorify God” and provide insight into issues confronting society today, particularly racism.
“Our culture has been inundated by false views of our origins, teaching that we evolved from ape-like ancestors. While most evolutionists are probably not racists, the philosophy they hold is inherently racist, implying that some people groups are more closely related to apes than others,” reads a press release.
It adds, “The Bible provides us with the true history of humanity. What people classify today as racial differences are rightly explained by the Babel event. Noah’s descendants scattered from Babel in family groups and settled new lands. Separated from one another, the various groups began to express distinct traits. No group is more “evolved” than any other.”
“We will proclaim the only solution to racism and every other sin that besets mankind: the gospel of Jesus Christ,” the statement continued.
The Bible’s Old Testament says the ancient Tower of Babel was built by Noah’s descendants after the worldwide flood. They rebelled against God and refused his command to “fill the earth” with their offspring.
The project is expected to take about three years to complete and will be located near the Ark Encounter.
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