Do your kids wish they lived in a LEGO universe? Good news: They can make it (almost) a reality at a mega LEGO convention coming to town. Brickworld, held June 20 & 21 at Renaissance Convention Center in Schaumburg, has about 30 million LEGOs in one room, with displays built by LEGO master builders and former LEGOland designers. Read on for a sneak peek at what’s in store.
Mini Worlds That Will Make You Smile
In 66,000 square feet, you’ll discover one colorful build after another. Instead of sculpture-like structures that you’d see at the LEGO store, the eye candy at Brickworld is highly elaborate minifigure environments. In fact, each is like a treasure hunt in settings ranging from medieval castles to space stations. You’ll catch movie scenes, replicas of buildings, re-creations of famous paintings and more.
Play “I Spy” with the kids and home in on micro details, like donut-eating policemen, piano delivery trucks and castles with moving drawbridges. Some things are downright silly, like a skyscraper on a train layout built by the Northern Illinois LEGO Train Club; in it, there is a guy sitting on a copy machine making copies of his rear. (Yes, kids — giggle, giggle.)
Museum-Quality LEGO Art
Some builds are like pieces of art — like the Albert Einstein “mural” made by Jeremy Moody from small tiles with letters and numbers on them. Another popular display is the Great Ball Contraption, a collaboration that values function over looks as it moves marble-sized soccer balls around a loop all weekend long; there will nearly 150 modules at this year’s event. Kids will be totally mesmerized!
Grownups, there are draws for you, too. While some big exhibits are highly guarded secrets, last year had several standouts, including a tribute to Homer’s “Odyssey.” All 10 islands from the epic book were re-created in LEGO form by 19 people from around the world who used roughly 1,000,000 pieces.
Hands-On Activities for Lil’ Builders
Of course building is as much fun as looking, so Brickworld also lets kids use their imaginations and make their own LEGO creations. A big table with 20,000 pieces is open throughout the convention for free builds. You can also tinker with remote controlled LEGO robots, watch a stop-motion video made with LEGOs or use switches to operate LEGO trains. Toddlers and beginning builders will have their own kind of fun with a big pile of Duplos.
Yes, everything here is awesome. Just as a LEGO universe should be!
Brickworld
June 20 & 21
Sat., 10 a.m.-4 p.m.; Sun., 10 a.m.-3 p.m.
Admission: $11; kids 3 & under are free
Renaissance Convention Center
1551 Thoreau Dr. North
Schaumburg
Online: brickworld.us/chicago
Will you attend Brickworld? Let us know in the Comments!
— Kelly Aiglon
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