Zoo builds endangered animals from LEGO bricks
An American zoo has come up with a unique way of showing visitors some of the world’s most endangered species, including polar bears and golden lion tamarins: all of the creatures are made of LEGO.
The new exhibition at Philadelphia Zoo, called “Creatures of Habitat: A Gazillion-Piece Animal Adventure”, features 10 free-standing habitats each telling the story of threatened species using models made of LEGO bricks. The exhibition features 34 life-size animals made from more than 250,000 bricks, from a replica of a 500-pound polar bear to a tiny harlequin frog.
Philadelphia Zoo’s Vikram H. Dewan said the exhibition would give visitors a better understanding of the zoo’s conservation work.
“Every child – and adult for that matter – can relate to the universal desire to protect our planet, this place we all call home,” Dewan said. “A key principle of this exhibit is to show how our world fits together and we all connect with it. Our goal remains simple: ensure we never see the day when a child’s only connection to these species is through history books.”
The exhibition runs until October.
“I love being able to explain serious problems in ways that kids can understand them,” said Sean Kenney, the man responsible for the models and one of only six LEGO professional artisans in the world.