As the “LEGO Movie” soundtrack goes, “everything is awesome, everything is cool when you’re part of a team!” That’s right, fans of the little plastic blocks can head to the Grand Rapids Public Museum for the Historic Grand Rapids LEGO Display from now through Jan. 5.
Museum guests can expect to see a historic Grand Rapids cityscape made of LEGO bricks. This 1925-era LEGO display is complete with operating trams, and showcases buildings in downtown Grand Rapids as they were in the 1920s. The buildings and landmarks include the McKay Tower (once McKay Building in the 1920s), The Morton Hotel, The Blue Bridge (once a train track bridge, now upgraded to a pedestrian bridge) and many others.
The display itself is located on the second floor of the GRPM and was built by the West Michigan LEGO Train Club. According to an article by GRPM, “WMLTC was founded in late 2011 by members of the Michigan LEGO User Group to further promote the LEGO hobby in West Michigan. Members enjoy sharing their displays with the public and connecting with like-minded builders.
Fun fact, according to the LEGO website, the name LEGO is an abbreviation for the two words “leg godt” which means “play well” in Danish and was founded as the LEGO Group in 1932 by Ole Kirk Kristiansean. “The company has passed from father to son and now is owned by Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen, the grandchild of the father.”
GRPM’s website also mentioned that another company, Milton Train Works which partnered with WMLTC and MichLug, created a 7-foot Tony the Tiger for Kellogg’s Cereal City in Battle Creek. They have also made LEGO models for the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, a suburb of Detroit.
From my experience, I thought that while the display was cool and interesting and made me think of my own LEGO-building experiences, I expected it to be a multi-room exhibit rather than a one-room exhibit with just one table showing the art, But overall it was still a great experience.
Grand Rapids Community College students can get into the museum for free with a Go See GR! Pass from the Student Life office. Otherwise, tickets to the display are available on the GRPM website. Tickets for adults are $12, seniors pay $10 and children and students are charged $5. Children that are two and under get in free.
