Ark building 101: Half-size vessel beckons curious visitors in Europe

AMSTERDAM, The Netherlands — Searchers have dreamed of finding Noah's Ark for hundreds of years, with Mount Ararat in Turkey recently becoming the focal point. However, now the "ark" has been found (sort of) in Europe.

There is currently an approximate half-size replica of Noah's Ark in The Netherlands. The construction of a full-size replica there is now under way.

Johan Huibers, a Dutchman, is the force behind these inspiring replicas.

According to Huibers' nonprofit organization, the Arks offer people "a chance to taste a little of how it must have been on Noah's Ark. The many life-size animals in cages and the beautiful structure of the building of the Ark bring the story of Noah to life (Genesis chapters 6-9). But next to that, people get a lot of information about the worldwide flood and the Ark through displays and films.

"Along the tour, where elephant footprints lead the way, people enjoy seeing the beautifully hand painted paintings on the walls and enjoy finding animals everywhere … Different Bible stories are displayed and there are fossils that are shown to confirm the flood …"

"You'll probably enjoy getting a better picture and more information about this beautiful story of hope and God's enormous love for you!"

To date, more than 300,000 people have toured the Ark replica.

It took Huibers 18 months to build his half-size, 68-meters-long, replica ark of cedar and pine — with modern tools. The smaller version is wheelchair accessible and contains restrooms and a restaurant.

"In 1992 I had a dream where Holland disappeared in enormous masses of water, something like the tsunami in Southeast Asia," Huibers states on his Web site. (His nation is a low-lying country with more than a quarter of its land below sea level.)

After finding a book in a local bookstore about Noah's Ark, he had a desire to build one of his own. He started in 2005.

However, as a devout Christian and believer in the Bible, he does not believe that God will ever flood the earth again on a worldwide scale, since the the Book of Genesis says the rainbow is a divine sign that it won't ever occur a second time.