1 million Lego bricks on display at Brockville, Ont. summer attraction
A new attraction is being built in Brockville, Ont. this week out of thousands of tiny little bricks, ready to wow kids and adults who grew up building with Lego years ago, or maybe still do.
A building crew has been busy at the Brockville Youth Arena since Monday, setting up for a new exhibition made of one million Lego bricks.
The Travelling Bricks Exhibition has criss-crossed the world, displaying brick-built models in Europe and the United States.
Now it's coming to Canada for the first time, thanks to the Aquatarium.
"This is a big deal for us," said Jennipher Carter, Aquatarium Director of Operations. "We've been working on this exhibit for well over a year, trying to get it here and it is finally here."
The Travelling Bricks Exhibition features 60 displays at the Brockville Youth Arena. (Nate Vandermeer/CTV News Ottawa)
Sixty displays showcase 120 different models - covering land, sea, air and space.
"Its mind blowing some of the exhibits," Carter said. "Some of them are tiny, but some of them are so huge and it's very impressive."
One of the models, a massive replica of the Titanic, is made of 200,000 pieces.
Another model of NASA's Apollo Saturn V Rocket stands nine feet tall and is made of 26,000 pieces.
Aquatarium Director of Operations Jennipher Carter walks by the Lego Titanic, built with 200,000 Lego bricks. (Nate Vandermeer/CTV News Ottawa)
Other models include airplanes, historical scenes and city vehicles.
"Education for the Aquatarium is one of our major focuses so, of course, we are going to add that to this exhibit as well," Carter said.
"The exhibit itself actually comes with a play area, so there is going to be a pit with all sorts of Lego and some stations for kids to build, big kids and little kids alike," she added.
And those big kids are a key to the event's success, able to pull in adult fans of Lego or AFOL's as they are called, who grew up building with Lego a child and never really quit.
"Lego really appeals to everybody, not just kids but adults as well," said Carter. "There is lots of great learning opportunities with Lego and building with Lego so we wanted to really focus on that."
"We are adding a component to that for education, and we will be doing things like builds with an instructor, learning about S.T.E.A.M and Lego at the same time," she said.
The exhibit is set to open May 20 and runs until Aug. 20. The Aquataruim is also offering a 25 per cent discount on tickets if families plan to visit both attractions this summer.
"If you buy tickets to Lego you get 25 per cent discount at Aquatarium tickets, or vice versa, you go to the Aquatarium you get 25 per cent off here," Carter said.
The Travelling Bricks Exhibition will be at the Brockville Youth Arena in Brockville from May 20 to Aug. 20. (Nate Vandermeer/CTV News Ottawa)
Visitors will also have a chance to meet Stacey Roy, winner of FOX TV, LEGO® Masters season 3, and interact with her live demonstrations on May 21 and May 22.
The entire exhibition was trucked in using two shipping containers, takes approximately four days to set up and uses approximately 10,000 square feet of space.
"It is way bigger than you think, standing next to them is very impressive when they are 10 feet tall," laughed Carter. "And when you are 5'5", like I am, it's pretty impressive!"
Tickets start at $18.99 and can be purchased online.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Norway, Ireland and Spain say they are recognizing a Palestinian state in a historic move
Norway, Ireland and Spain said on Wednesday they are recognizing a Palestinian state, in a historic but largely symbolic move that deepens Israel’s isolation more than seven months into its grinding war against Hamas in Gaza.
Thunderstorms with tornado risk in some areas in Ontario, snow elsewhere in Canada
Canadians can expect a mixed bag of weather, with forecasts warning of thunderstorms, heavy rain and snow in some areas across western Canada.
NEW How to remove ticks and what to know about these bloodsuckers
Ticks are parasitic bloodsuckers, capable of spreading deadly disease, and they’re becoming increasingly common. Here’s what you need to know about them.
Montreal photographer captures dramatic Canada goose vs. fox fight on video
A Montreal photographer captured the moment a Canada goose defended itself from a fox at the Botanical Garden.
Canadians feel grocery inflation getting worse, two in five boycotting Loblaw: poll
Almost two-thirds of Canadians feel that inflation at the grocery store is getting worse, a new poll suggests, even as food inflation has been steadily cooling.
opinion Joe Biden uses bully pulpit to bully Donald Trump on debates
Donald Trump had spent weeks needling U.S. President Joe Biden for his refusal to commit to a debate. But Washington political columnist Eric Ham describes how in one fell swoop, Biden ingeniously stole the issue from the Trump campaign and made it his own.
Barbie will make dolls to honour Venus Williams, Christine Sinclair and other athletes
Barbie dolls will honour Canadian soccer star Christine Sinclair and tennis champion Venus Williams, plus seven other athletes as part of a project announced by Mattel on Wednesday.
Ontario mother loses $2,500 to text scammer pretending to be daughter
An Ontario mother lost $2,500 to a scammer pretending to be her daughter asking for help in late April.
From AI running wild to collapsing ecosystems, government report outlines future disruptions
From artificial intelligence running wild to collapsing ecosystems, a new Canadian government report outlines 35 disruptions that could rattle the country in the near future.