by Selena Ma

Noah began to build his ark following God’s direction; now Dutchman Johan Huibers is building a replica of Noah’s ark, but a fifth of its actual size. This 47-year-old man from Schagen, 30 miles north of Amsterdam, is getting ready to set sail his ark animals and all. He plans to do so in September as a testament to his Christian faith. Huibers, who plans to open the vessel as a religious monument and zoo, hopes his project will renew interest in Christianity in the Netherlands, which has one of the highest percentages of atheists.

Huibers plan for his ark will remain true to the ark except for the fact that he will use American cedar and Norwegian pine, rather than gopher wood.  The building plans have been scaled down to one-fifth of the size of Noah’s Ark. Mr. Huibers’ vision is more modest - he said he plans to stock his ark with horses, lambs, chickens and rabbits - mostly baby animals to save space.  His ark is meant to appeal to a younger audience because it is a tangible Bible story to show children that the ark really existed. The total cost of this project is costing Huibers $1.2 million dollars funded by bank loans. He plans to repay these loans by charging an admission fee, which includes a drink and a religious pamphlet. This is an extravagant way to prove one’s faith to God, but to every man his own.

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