If you have a LEGO lover at home, a visit to the Discovery Science Center’s LEGO Travel Adventure exhibit is not a should-do, but a must-do. Those brightly colored stackable, linkable, lovable bricks are out in full force from now until May 10. With travel being the main theme, young creators can build vehicles of all shapes and sizes that will drive, float and fly through exotic terrains.

photo credit: Discovery Science Center Orange County

Welcome, Builders!
Let the kids loose on huge interactive displays where they can race hand made LEGO vehicles down ramps and through tunnels. First stop: building the car.  Second stop: racing.  Then kids can even snap and share photos of their creations at the designated booths located through out the exhibit.  Their work is now immortalized.

photo credit: Christina Montoya Fiedler

Learn from LEGO Master Builders
Just like Emmett in The LEGO Movie, a LEGO Master Builder can build anything and everything out of LEGOS. Dozens of these real life LEGO geniuses were hired to create lifelike recreations of great moments in travel history: panning during the Gold Rush, the building of the first Model T, the Wright Brothers flight at Kitty Hawk and others. Look closely and you might just spy a Storm Trooper skiing or SpongeBob flying a kite. The more you look the more you’ll find.

photo credit: Christina Montoya Fiedler

Play and Pretend
Before your LEGO experts sit down to create, have them suit-up as a pilot, ship captain, or race car driver to find inspiration for their vehicle. Afterwards, take advantage of some perfect photo ops like the kid-sized race car made from LEGOs and the minifigure cut outs.

photo credit: Christina Montoya Fiedler

Something for the Toddler Set
Little LEGO lovers are welcomed with special areas designated for smaller hands. A Duplo station (those larger LEGOS that don’t fit as easily in little mouths) is set up for pint-sized museum-goers. As is an oversize block building section.  What we like about this most is that it’s for littles only, so they’re not fighting for space with the big builders.

Beyond the Brick
If the kids ever leave the LEGo Adventure exhibit (and they might not) you can roam around the rest of the museum and check out other favorites like the eco-grocery store and the science of hockey displays.  If you leave enough time you can even check out the other new, limited time exhibit: National Geographic presents Earth Explorers.

photo credit: Christina Montoya Fiedler

You Fed the Mind, Now Feed the Body
The only food option inside the museum is Taco Bell. So if your family tends to live a more organic, less saturated kind of lifestyle, you may want to bring your own. One great eating option is to take a sunshine break and picnic at nearby Fisher Park.

There is currently limited parking ($4) due to construction. Finding parking across the street at the Main Place Mall is a good alternative.

The Lego Travel Adventure exhibit is open daily from January 17-May 10, 2015 from 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
Tickets are $16.95/adult, $12.95/kids 3-14 and kids under 2 are free.

Discovery Science Center
2500 N. Main St.
Santa Ana
Online: discoverycube.org/oc/

Here’s a tip: if you’ve got a Lego maniac, we’ve rounded up all the best ways to get your Lego on in LA, even after this exhibit is long gone.  What do you do to feed the imagination of your master builder?

Christina Montoya Fiedler

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