Calling Lego enthusiasts of all ages. Three huge Lego exhibits in metro Atlanta will bring everything from the White House and city skyscrapers to pirates and a giant praying mantis to life, brick by brick — hundreds of thousands of them.
And if you still want more Legos, there’s always Legoland Discovery Center Atlanta, currently offering discount prices (more information below).
Celebricktion at Cobb Galleria
An imaginative city of Legos, now lit with more than 1,100 LED lights, will take over part of Cobb Galleria the weekend of Oct. 10-11.
Harry Nijenkamp and his son, Austin, a college student, have snapped together about 1 million Legos, building a giant cityscape known as “Celebricktion.” With keen attention to detail, this fun-filled city features dolphins swimming in the ocean, a Dragon Con-inspired parade and a firetruck getting ready to rescue a cat stuck in a tree. It includes a high rise reaching almost 14 feet, a castle and ocean.
But while this city of Legos has been presented in the past, it is not only bigger but brighter, thanks to a several-weeks-long process (and the help of a recent Georgia Tech grad) of installing and programming 1,100 LED lights. With some lights tiny enough to fit into the smallest Lego bricks, the lights flash and fade as well as provide steady light. Even the eyes of a dragon in a parade glow red. And a series of lights move up and down a skyscraper in a rainbow of colors. Hands-on Lego activities, vendors and other exhibits will also be at the event.
10 a.m.-5 p.m. Oct. 10-11. $15 at the door. $12 tickets available online before the event at www.celebricktion.com. Ten percent of proceeds go to Children's Healthcare of Atlanta. Cobb Galleria, 2 Galleria Parkway S.E., Atlanta. 770-955-8000.
“Nature Connects: Art With Lego Bricks” at the Atlanta Botanical Garden’s Gainesville satellite garden
Now through Jan. 3, the touring exhibit features 27 nature-themed sculptures — including a giant praying mantis and a swallowtail butterfly with a 5-foot wingspan — in 14 installations, crafted from more than 375,000 Lego bricks.
The Gainesville attraction is a woodland garden stretching across 168 acres (more than five times the size of the Midtown Atlanta garden), a suitable setting for visitor discoveries such as a Lego duck and ducklings beside the pond, the praying mantis peeking out from a drift of Overlook Garden grasses and a supersize hummingbird with a trumpet flower off the Promenade.
"Nature Connects" was created by New York-based Lego artist Sean Kenney for Reiman Gardens in Ames, Iowa.
9 a.m.-6 p.m. Tuesdays-Sundays. $8 adults, $5 ages 3-12. Free for children under 3 and for garden members. Atlanta Botanical Garden, Gainesville, 1911 Sweetbay Drive, Gainesville. 404-876-5859, atlantabg.org/visit/gainesville.
The Lego Americana Roadshow at North Point Mall
Now through Oct. 4, enjoy a visual and educational traveling installation of supersize Lego replicas. The show includes 10 of the most well-known and loved landmarks in the country. The American landmarks are made completely out of Lego bricks and were built by Lego Master Builders. The event is free and open to the public.
Models include the U.S. Capitol Building, White House, Supreme Court, Washington Monument, Jefferson Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, Statue of Liberty, Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell and Old North Church. In addition, there is a Lego Brick Play Area where children can practice their building skills. If you download the Lego Connect app, you can watch time-lapse videos of some of the master builders building the landmarks at the mall. (From noon-4 p.m. Sept. 26 and 27, attendees can build a make and take mini White House model; upper level of the West Court of North Point Mall.)
10 a.m.-9 p.m. Mondays-Saturdays and noon-7 p.m. Sundays through Oct. 4. North Point Mall, 1000 North Point Circle, Alpharetta. 770-740-9273, www.northpointmall.com/events/lego-americana-roadshow.
Legoland Discovery Center Atlanta
If you’re just looking for a standard Lego fix, head over to Legoland in Phipps Plaza for some guaranteed Lego fun. Save on the ticket price by pre-ordering online and get up to 25 percent off. The price is lower on weekdays and after 3 p.m. There is also a deal on Goldstar for $12 tickets (plus $3.50) fee. The deal is running through the end of the year (or while supplies last) and your e-ticket does not come with a specific time slot. Children 2 and under are admitted free.
Regular prices: $17.95 for adults and children 3 and older (note: this is a starting price and price varies depending on the time of day of visit). Children 2 and under are free.
10 a.m.-7 p.m. Mondays-Fridays; 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Saturdays; 10 a.m.-7 p.m Sundays. Last admission is 5 p.m. Sundays- Fridays and 7 p.m. Saturdays. Legoland Discovery Center Atlanta, Phipps Plaza, 3500 Peachtree Road, Atlanta. www.legolanddiscoverycenter.com/atlanta/.
