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A Lego Pop-Up Has Landed in Brooklyn for the Holidays
An interactive Lego pop-up play zone from the folks behind Brick Fest Live opened in Downtown Brooklyn last weekend for a limited two-week engagement. You'll find Legos to play and build with, video games, a Lego block pit, walk-through exhibits made of Legos, collaborative projects, a Star Wars theme, and yes, shopping options. I visited with my 3.5 year old son over the weekend, so read on for what he (and I) thought of it!
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Design a car to race down the ramps.
My son made a beeline for the first sculpture in view upon entry, none other than a six-foot Woody from Toy Story. After a few minutes of taking in its magnificence, we stumbled upon the Brick Fest Derby area, where pre-made bases and wheels were scattered among bins of individual Lego blocks. Without any prompting, my preschooler knew to start building atop the car base and take his newly-built masterpiece atop of one of the multiple race-ramps for its grand escapade (this is after a few prompts NOT to climb up the ramp first). After his few cars broke into pieces upon landing, he figured out how to build it sturdily enough to finish the race in one piece through riveting rounds of trial and error. How's that for on the fly STEM learning?
Next we migrated to—wait for it—the “Lego Brick Pit,” which is exactly as it sounds. Think ball pit, but filled with thousands upon thousands of green Legos. While it seemed enticing at first, my toddler was a bit sensitive by the multitude of jagged edges, and wasn’t able to feel comfortable to dive into a building frenzy like some of the older kids. He instead discovered a preference for crawling around the pit’s fence and pulling Lego blocks as he saw fit to contribute to his original structure.
RELATED: NYC Holiday Events Guide for Families
See the lit up creatures at the Glow Zone Exhibit.
We then proceeded to have a family dance party at the “Glow Zone Exhibit”, which was probably his first blacklight experience, all set to an electronic dance music soundtrack. My son was fascinated by the glowing sculptures, which included a clever outline of Daft Punk surrounded by various sea creatures. Little known fact: many Lego blocks contain dye that naturally glows under a blacklight, making this a fun activity to try at home!
Build and add your own tile to create a giant floor mosaic.
Probably one of the most exciting, interactive components to this exhibit was the gigantic mystery floor mosaic, which will require 537 participants to collaboratively complete a design on a 20 by 20-foot mat. And 58,176 Lego blocks later, the mystery mosaic will reveal a Rogue One-themed surprise in celebration of the upcoming new Star Wars flick. We were provided with an instruction sheet showing the color blocks we had to put down on our 1 by 1 Lego mat, an age-appropriate challenge for toddlers. Once you are done, a staff member checks it for accuracy, and then you get to place it on the huge mat in the corresponding numbered outline. My son was ecstatic at every stage of this adventure, especially the culminating moment of finding his number and the pride he felt that he was contributing to a giant puzzle.
We also checked out the “Architecture Zone," where kids can build and contribute to their own Lego building. The area is surrounded by a melange of architecture spanning multiple eras. Look closely, and you can pick out the Pantheon, and Aztec temple, and a European castle!
Kids can also play Lego video games. Photo courtesy of the exhibit.
The exhibit also includes a video game area with Lego games, which the bigger kids will appreciate. We had a great time at this new indoor family play spot. It's a shame it's temporary!
Catch the Lego Holiday Experience again this weekend before it closes at City Point Brooklyn, 445 Albee Square West. It will be open Friday evening, and Saturday December 17 and Sunday, December 18. Tickets are $12-15, and parents do require one. FREE for kids age two and under.
Places featured in this article:
City Point Brooklyn
