![]() The animal pens that house these many species are supplemented by audio effects that include the animals’ sounds as well as those of raging sea waves and storms.ĭuring the first hour of my tour, I visit the first of three decks. ![]() The designers originally planned to house some live animals inside the Ark, but complications resulted in these real versions being relegated to petting zoos outside the Ark and the sister museum. ![]() The first thing I note is a remarkably designed deck that includes mockups of urns and food storage devices that were used for the animals aboard the Ark, as well as cages that hold a number of curious animals, dinosaurs (which were part of the bestiary inside Noah’s vessel), and “proto animals” that represent earlier forms of today’s creatures. I recall the influence that theme parks have had on contemporary spaces of all types. It’s worth noting that AiG’s key attraction designer is Patrick Marsh, who may be remembered for his work on Universal’s Jaws and King Kong attractions.Īs I move through the queue house of the Ark and enter its first spaces, video loops remind guests of the monumental design and construction efforts behind it – the world’s largest timber frame structure. Incidentally, the operators of Ark Encounter refer to the space as a “theme park.” I realise that in the world of edutainment, the lines between themed and immersive spaces have blurred, but for me the Ark is a museum that uses design and interactive approaches from the world of theme parks. We exit the bus and enter the queue area as we might at any theme park. Here, the guest is enveloped fully in an enclosed space, all the while reflecting on what Noah, his family and the animals experienced during the Flood event. The Ark’s structure serves an immersive purpose. You can’t quite grasp the attraction’s scale of 155 metres (509 feet) long, 26 metres (85 feet) wide and 25 metre (82 feet) high from photographs, but needless to say, a structure of such magnitude reminds us of the impact that scale and exterior form may have on our being immersed in a space. The driver says little during our trip, and he doesn’t have to as we all look in awe at the structure as it enters our fields of vision. I glance around on the bus and I detect notable excitement and anticipation on the faces of the guests who join me on the tour. After parking and the ticket line, I board a bus. I approach Ark Encounter with openness and mystery. Ultimately, we may discover that such insider’s views of themed and immersive spaces provide designers and other professionals within the attractions industries a valuable opportunity to better understand design approaches. The tour of these attractions that I offer reflects on the guest experiences of the attractions that I observed in my two-day visit to the spaces. The idea being that we try to understand our fieldsites from the perspectives of those who visit them. When I had the opportunity to visit Ark Encounter and the Creation Museum, I wanted to keep at the forefront of my experiences what we anthropologists call an “emic” or insider’s perspective. I wrote about my experiences working at a Six Flags theme park and I now travel the world making its museums, theme parks and attractions my field sites. Yet, this interesting and unique Christian worldview is not the focus of my tour. As we’ll see with a tour of the two attractions, each promotes a Young Earth and literalist view of the Bible (with an emphasis on the book of Genesis). ![]() These last concerns stem from the nature of Answers in Genesis’ (AiG) specific and unique beliefs. The two biblically-themed attractions, separated by a 45-minute drive through Northern Kentucky, are significant in many senses, not least because they represent a growing awareness among spiritual organisations that religious experiences may have more impact when developed through contexts of theming and immersion.Ī quick Internet search of these attractions will result in numerous articles, videos and blog entries that focus on a number of controversies, ranging from concerns about tax funding, “ideology” tests for potential employees, political and religious differences between Answers in Genesis (the fundamentalist Christian apologetics organisation who also founded the attractions) and Ken Ham (the CEO behind the attractions), and disagreements about whether it’s appropriate to use evocative techniques to present religious information to the public. In August, I had the opportunity to tour two attractions that have been on my themed and immersive spaces map: Ark Encounter, which opened in 2016, and the Creation Museum, which opened in 2007. Inside, the exhibits illustrate how Noah and the animals lived Credit: IMAGES: SCOTT A LUKAS ![]() Ark Encounter is built to the exact scale described in the Bible. ![]()
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