£100m model of Noah's Ark opens for business in Kentucky

A model of the ark that the Bible says saved two of every kind of animal on the planet has opened to decidedly mixed reviews in the state of Kentucky.

The massive wooden structure, built by a Christian ministry called Answers in Genesis, stands seven storeys high and is the length of 1.5 American football fields. But it does not float.

Ken Ham, Answers in Genesis and Ark Encounter president and CEO, says it wasn't built to float. "We built it as a reminder, a reminder in regard to God's word and the account of Noah and the flood," he said.

The $100m (£77m) Disney-like attraction offers three decks of exhibitions. There are no live animals on the ark, though – although there is a zoo outside. Instead, the ark is filled with lifelike models of animals — including dinosaurs and a pair of unicorns.

That's because Answers in Genesis believes that humans and dinosaurs co-existed, and that the world is only 6,000 years old, as opposed to science's view that it's 4.5 billion years old.

Ark employees must sign a statement saying the Earth is 6,000 years old — and that homosexuality is a sin.

That weird mix of religious beliefs and attraction in the middle of the small town of Williamstown (population 4,000) has many locals annoyed.

Many see the ark as an "embarrassing, entertainment-cloaked attack on science that uses tax incentives in violation of the separation of church and state," reports the local Courier-Journal.

Many are put out that the attraction went to court to win a massive $18m tax break. The state had withdrawn tax incentives in part because the ministry refused to pledge that it would not discriminate on the basis of religion in its hiring (or not discriminate against homosexuals).

Besides the tax break, the government also provided the project with free land and $62m in bonds.

The holy attraction is expected to draw some two million visitors a year and $4bn over the next decade, according to statistics provided by the ministry.

But local lawyer Bill Adkins is sceptical. "We've not seen the hotels, we've not seen the restaurants coming in to support this attraction," he said. "I think a lot of people are waiting to invest because they want to see if after the flash and bang of the opening, what happens next."

But Bill Nye "the Science Guy" is "sick and disgusted" by the ark. Check out his YouTube video to see him discuss a few of the scientific flaws in the whole idea of Noah's Ark.