A controversial $90 million Noah's Ark replica is being built in Kentucky

The Ark Encounter, featuring a 510-foot-long replica of Noah's Ark, is expected to open in Kentucky next July, but don't go expecting to see pair after pair of animals — there won't be any livestock on this ark.

Instead, there will be a petting zoo, as well as a future expansion with a first-century Middle Eastern village and a Tower of Babel. The group behind the attraction, Answers in Genesis, is a "young Earth creationist group," The Guardian reports, meaning it believes that God created the Earth in six days about 6,000 years ago. So far, they have raised $23.5 million in donations to go towards the $90 million price tag. When all is said and done, the group said the ark "should become the largest timber-frame structure in the USA," and will see 1.6 million visitors in the first year. The Ark Encounter is affiliated with the Creation Museum 45 minutes away, which has a Garden of Eden area where "children play and dinosaurs roam near Eden's rivers."

The state of Kentucky originally approved $18 million in tourism sales tax credits for the attraction, then withdrew the offer over concerns about the religious nature of the project and potential hiring practices, WDRB reports. Republican governor-elect Matt Bevin said he will reverse the decision, telling WDRB: "There's no reason to discriminate against the Ark park, and that's essentially what this administration has done." The Ark Encounter is suing the state, with Answers in Genesis CEO Ken Ham saying it is a "free exercise of religion issue, and we see it as setting a precedent."

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