Modeling the size of Noah’s Ark
by Don Batten
Many people have difficulty understanding how big Noah’s Ark was. Rod Walsh,
from Geelong (Victoria, Australia), set about helping people to see that Noah’s
Ark was a real boat of huge proportions. Rod built a 1/72nd scale model—that
is, the real Ark was 72 times bigger than Rod’s model. Rod’s model is
two metres long. The actual Ark was over 140 metres long. You could fit over 350,000
of Rod’s models in the real Ark!
How does this help? Well, when you put 1/72nd scale models of animals
and people next to the model Ark, people can see just how big it is—and how
it could hold a huge number of animals and a lot of food, as well as Noah and his
family. The Ark was certainly too big if it was meant for a few local animals escaping
from a limited local flood, as some would want to believe
(and why not emigrate instead?).
 Rod asked Creation Ministries International
in Brisbane for help with the Ark’s specifications to make sure he got it
as authentic as possible. You can see from the photos [all photos are available
in Creation magazine] just how much work went into it—showing the
decks, pens for the animals (including dinosaurs), sacks of food, even bird cages,
complete with birds! Note—no fish tanks, despite skeptic caricatures, because
the Bible says only land animals were on board. Imagine how much work it was for
Noah and his family, and probably hired workers, to build the real thing!
Rod and his wife, Nancy, displayed their Ark at the Waterfront Festival in Geelong
last January. The interest overwhelmed them. For three days they hardly had time
to sit down, with 6–15 people looking at the Ark at any one time. On the last
day they went from 10 AM to 10 PM with hardly a break. They ran out of brochures
and materials to hand out, including Creation magazine
brochures. People were amazed at the relative size of the Ark—Rod had measured
the wharf building where the display was housed and was able to tell people how
big the Ark was compared to the building.
Rod has had a number of requests from people to show the model Ark at their church
or school. When he and Nancy display the Ark, they also present the biblical account
of the Flood, warning viewers of the judgment of God upon sin and of the final coming
judgment. God has provided a way of escape from this judgment through Jesus paying
the penalty for our sins by His death on the Cross.
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