Remember when Lego used to be only bricks? I didn’t have a ton of it as a kid but I remember building a bunch of square shaped colorful houses that look a lot like all the modern architecture that is popping up in Seattle neighborhoods recently. We didn’t have specific pieces or sets like the Minecraft or Lego Friends sets our kids now plow through and rare pieces like windows, doors and flowers were definitely worth fighting my sister for. The things we built were amazing to us. And our Lego sets could be used over and over and over again.
I am definitely amazed by the things my kids can build with Lego nowadays. They dream about new box sets and when they finally get to purchase one, they can sit for hours following complex instructions to build contraptions that are pretty incredible. But once a piece falls off or something breaks and goes missing, none of us can fix the project and we end up with another pile to add to our growing Lego wasteland.
Art of the Brick at the Pacific Science Center is inspiring because it showed my kids that you can build a lot of amazing things with Lego without having to have it come in a package. A lot of inspiration Nathan Sawaya, the artist gets is from things he sees in everyday life and he builds them with the plain bricks that you can find in any Lego pile.
I loved walking through the gallery at the Pacific Science Center and seeing Lego displayed like art in an art gallery. It is art. Beautiful art. And it makes me want to try and build something other than a square box house.
My guys enjoyed seeing art they recognized like the Mona Lisa and Starry Night. But they also were really enthralled with an area in the exhibit where Lego sculptures replaced an object in a portrait and they spent a while trying to figure out what it was.
And they thought the giant Lego sculptures were truly incredible too!
I was a little scared that some of the sculptures might meet a horrific end after reading this article on Mashable and I love how this other company is taking Lego building to the next level by making real-life giant Lego bricks!
We even spent a nice little chunk of time at the gift store at the end. There were many books that were designed to facilitate brick building out of the box and I think we’ll have to buy one next time we go. I know the exhibit goes on until at least September this year so we’ll be back. I hope that seeing this exhibit will help my kids realize the amazing things they can build with the mountains of Lego they already have.
(PS. We went to Art of the Brick because of a membership perk I have with our Platinum membership at the Pacific Science Center. We love supporting our local museums and this one has some great perks, like reciprocal memberships at other museums, discounts, early openings and iMax tickets. It’s a great way to support our community and also have some fun experiences too!)
(PPS. We love eating at the Armory when we go to Seattle Center and the new La Marzocco Espresso is nearby and delicious too!
Terumi Pong is a Seattle-based family travel writer and mom of twin teenage boys. She loves coffee and pastries, shopping local and looking for greener ways to live. She is also known as Scout’s mom (Scout is a 5ish pound little black yorkie-poo)
I was curious how kid-friendly this exhibit was – thanks for sharing!