Fox and Friends co-host Steve Doocy toured the life-size replica of Noah’s Ark and the accompanying theme park at Ark Encounter in Williamston, Kentucky, sharing the larger-than-life spectacle that brings Noah’s famous ordeal to the masses. The Christian-focused complex opened in 2016 and typically receives around one million visitors annually.
For additional context, Ark Encounter’s main exhibit is the eponymous watercraft constructed by Noah at the direction of God to survive the impending flood. The size and scope of the ark are detailed in the Bible, but it is another thing entirely to stand in front of a behemoth measuring 510 feet long, 85 feet wide, and 51 feet high. Doocy toured the grounds with a long-time employee and guide.
“At over 800 acres, there’s a lot to see here. So I’ve got the best tour guide. This is Avery. She’s been here since the very beginning,” Doocy begins in the segment. After she promises a tour of the life-size ark, Doocy jokes that it should be raining and immediately notices a rainbow featuring prominently as well. “All right, shouldn’t it be raining though? I love this. There’s a rainbow over the ark,” he says.
The guide, Avery, then remarks that the rainbow was famously God’s promise to never destroy the world again, before diving into additions made to the expansive property since opening just over a decade ago. “We now have the answer center, which we host events and things like that. We have a new carousel. The kids absolutely love a massive playground. We have our VR experience, which is amazing. We have a huge zoo. The kids can meet all kinds of amazing animals,” she explains.
The two then exchange some friendly banter about the grounds understandably hosting a zoo replete with myriad animal species, then lightheartedly discussing rides like the zipline that Noah did not have access to, but missed an opportunity to include on his massive vessel.
Later, Avery describes that July 7th of 2026 would be a special day for both patriotic and biblical reasons. “America is celebrating its 250 on July 4th. You’re celebrating something on 7/7. Yes,
yes. So July 7th because it’s the seventh month, seventh day, and then if you look in Genesis 7:7, that’s when Noah and his family went into the ark. That’s our 10th anniversary. So if you’re planning a road trip for you know America’s 250. Make sure you put the Ark Encounter on your list of places to visit.”
The two then make it inside the ark replica, where Avery describes what they’re in. “510 feet long, 85 feet wide, 51 feet high. But what’s really cool is the dimensions given to Scripture are absolutely perfect for maximum stability and comfort for the passengers on board. And of course, God knew that when He gave Noah the dimensions. So this is the door. There was only one door into the ark, and so we have the door here with the cross illuminated on it to remind guests. There was one door to go into the ark to be saved from God’s judgment on sin, and there’s one door, the Lord Jesus Christ, who saves us today,” she said.
Curiously, Doocy notices that the ark includes dinosaur replicas. After wondering aloud how dinosaurs fit into the flood story, Avery shares the perspective of the park operators of young Earth creationism. “That asteroid would have hit Earth during the flood. We believe that impact crater is found in flood sediment, so all the dinosaurs safe aboard Noah’s Ark, two of every kind, and then they would have died out sometime after the flood. So when you start with the Bible’s history, you get a very different picture looking at the world around us,” she said/
“That’s great,” Doocy responds. :You know the great thing about the Ark Encounter is I’m learning parts of the story I’ve known for over 60 years that I never knew. I didn’t know those guys,” he added.
“It’s all the tiny little details in the text. So many different people have heard of the account of the flood, right? They’ve read about it as children. They’ve seen the imagery, oftentimes not quite accurate imagery, and when they come and see how big it actually was, and it’s not like some of those illustrations we see, it’s it’s really eye-opening,” Avery said.
“You know, nothing prepares you for the massive scale, and you just think he built that with his hands and with wood and with paint,” Doocy added as one final comment, eliciting a short response from Avery as well. “Yeah, and you have to see it for yourself. If you haven’t been, come and see it for yourself,” she concluded.
Featured image: Screen shot from embedded video