Ark Encounter nest in them. Much of the wood used to build the Ark Encounter was sourced from renewable forests or trees infested by beetles. During construction, former President Jimmy Carter toured the Ark Encounter, accepting an invitation from LeRoy Troyer, president of the Troyer Group. Ark Encounter opened on July 7, 2016, a date (7/7) chosen to correspond with Genesis 7:7: "And Noah and his sons and his wife and his sons' wives entered the ark to escape the waters of the flood." AiG also announced that, for the first 40 days and 40 nights of Ark Encounter's operation – an
Father Noah's Ark the storm rolls in and the animals are summoned, two-by-two, to the ark, accidentally leaving two skunks behind. The ark is soon buffeted around by the storm and the ark's occupants praise to the Lord. At one point, Noah gets rainwater leaking through the ceiling in his mouth and has to open a porthole to spit it out, whereupon he is chased by a stray lightning bolt, which he lets out through another porthole. 40 days later, the storm recedes and a dove, carrying an olive branch, flies back to Noah and his family to signify that land has been