Back in September my family and I were hosted at the Ark Encounter and the Creation Museum (sister museums in Kentucky) as part of our family’s road trip. This article will focus on the Ark Encounter and then I will share more about our experience at the Creation Museum.
We had an amazing experience that is hard to put into words, as this is just one of those locations that you have to see and experience first hand. Having been there now, I can offer up some tips for those of you thinking of going with your kids to this experience.
- Block out the whole day
The Ark Encounter took us hours to explore and then after we were there, we spent another hour (or more) at the playground. Be prepared to purchase a meal (there are great food options) or snack and bring along water bottles to have something to drink while you are there.
- It’s a lot of walking
The Ark itself is multiple stories tall with huge floors that have a lot to see. After that, there’s the zoo to explore and the playground. If you know your child(ren) will not do well with a lot of walking, bring a stroller! The entire location is stroller-friendly (ramps take you from one floor to the next) and your child(ren) will still be able to see everything well.
- The beginning is kind of scary for small children
I was warned that the beginning of the Ark Encounter was a little bit scary for the younger crowd. It is pretty dark on the whole ark (naturally) but in the beginning, it’s showing you a lot of the animals and there are some creepy animal noises. So between the dim lighting and foreign sounds, we had to hold our kids throughout a small portion.
- Buy the Educational Guide
Since we Homeschool I was, as usual, looking for a way to make this an even more enriching experience for my kids. I was happy to find in the shop that they had educational guides geared toward different age groups (I bought the one for K-2) AND they were only $4.99. Woot Woot! Even if you don’t homeschool your kids, I highly recommend buying this guide. It has things to look for in each exhibit in the ark and outside the ark, so they were actively participating in the whole experience. It was a great way to keep the kids engaged, especially in some of the areas they might not have found to be as interesting.
- *If you are planning to visit both museums, go to the Creation Museum BEFORE the Ark Encounter
The Creation Museum is smaller than the Ark Encounter but still has incredible things to see and do. If you visit the Creation Museum before the Ark Encounter you will be sure to keep the adventure building from one to the next, I promise! Also, you can save money by purchasing tickets to both in a combo deal!
You can check out a quick overview of our trip here, hopefully, you can see how much fun we had in it and want to go yourself!
