Shape of Noah’s Ark

The ark probably looked like a large, simple barge. It was designed for stability rather than for speed or maneuverability.

Size of Noah’s Ark

In this model, a cubit equals approximately 18 inches. This means the ark was 450 ft long (300 cubits), 75 ft wide (50 cubits), and 45 ft high (30 cubits). Each of its three stories was 15 ft high (10 cubits).

Model Scale

The ark, train, animals, and people are all according to H.O. scale, which is 1/87 of actual size. The ark was equal in size to many modern container ships—the equivalent of 100 or more boxcars.

Special Features

  • Below the roof, an opening one cubit high extends all the way around the ark to provide ventilation (Gen 6:16).
  • The cut-away section shows the three decks (Gen. 6:16) and various rooms used (Gen 6:14) for animals and storage (Gen 6:20-21).
  • Light balsa wood was used to build the model, and the black paint represents the pitch used to coat both the inside and outside (Gen 6:14).

Appreciation

Warner Pacific University thanks the Mitchell Library for this gift. This model was built for Dr. Garry Friesen’s Pentateuch course which was taught at Multnomah School of the Bible before it became known as Multnomah Bible College in 1993.