Brick Wonders – a world of Lego at Horniman Museum (London)

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On the 16th of February, 2019, a new temporary exhibition opened at Horniman Museum and Gardens (London), replacing the “Colour – The Rainbow Revealed” one (which replaced the Robot Zoo one, and so on, as this is what “temporary” means, right?).

Being half-term, we decided to spend an afternoon discovering and enjoying this new exhibition. We visited in the afternoon because it is less crowded and there is still plenty of time to enjoy it as the museum closes at 5.30pm.

The “Brick Wonders” exhibition invites the visitor to travel through history and explore over 50 models made using half a million LEGO® bricks. Some of the models are small enough to inspire kids to try and build them at home. And some of the models are so impressive, like the coral reef or the walrus (a symbol of Horniman as well)!

I took a lot of photos but there still are a lot of models not included in this post. All the models are beautiful and need to be seen in person, admired from each angle.

As you enter the exhibition, on either side there are play areas where you can build whatever you dream of. You can play with classic Lego bricks or try to reproduce a construction from the exhibition.

And on your right, you will also notice an idea you might love: a Lego board stuck to the wall for kids to build… on the wall! The kids were so excited about it! Maybe because you see the constructions from a different angle. Or maybe it’s because you build something on the wall… not sure, but wouldn’t you want something like this at home?

Once you get beyond this point, the Brick Wonders begin. The Coral Reef is on your right and the Walrus on your left, and all the other constructions to follow.

All you can do is be amazed by the ideas, the hard work, the patience and the team effort all these wonders took to be created.

Can you guess what the next constructions are? You can check if you guessed them right at the end of this post 😉

In the corner opposite the entrance, you will reach another play area. It has Lego Duplo and big rubber blocks for kids to play with. There are colouring pages and also books to read and get inspiration from.

After this playful break, you can continue to admire some other brick wonders, like the ones in the photos below.

As you might have already noted, the constructions have been built all around the world. They represent places and things from different places making the exhibition a great source of information for the kids.

Speaking of Brick Wonders, Horniman Museum in London is the perfect place to admire the 7 World Wonders entirely made of Lego bricks!

When you exit the world of the 7 wonders, you reach a challenge with the next construction. It’s a challenge my kids really loved: you have to try and guess how many bricks have been used to build the Horniman Museum! And if you get it right, after the exhibition ends, in October, you could win a £50 Lego Gift Card!

Before writing a few useful information and tips, I owe you an answer to my question above. Those two constructions were the Grand Canyon and the Great Wall of China, as seen from above. Did you guess them right? Let me know in the comments below!

Useful information and tips for a great day out at Brick Wonders (Horniman Museum and Gardens, London):

• the exhibition is open until the 27th of October, 2019
• tickets are free for members or £5/child, £9/adult, £20/family
• the museum is open daily from 10.00 am until 5.30 pm
• the museum has facilities, including baby change, and also a cafe
• it’s a bit less crowded in the afternoon, as sometimes in the morning are also school trips there
• the Brick Wonders exhibition, as you’ve seen above, has play areas for kids of all ages

From what you have seen in these photos, which construction is your favourite so far?

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Raluca

Raluca Zagura is a mum of two, based in London, and she is also a Certified Hand in Hand Parenting Instructor.