events

Colossal Lifelike Lego Sculptures Bloom at Houston Botanic Garden

Colossal Lifelike Lego Sculptures Bloom at Houston Botanic Garden

'Monarch on Milkweed'

IF YOU HAVEN’T had the chance to visit the Houston Botanic Garden since it opened in the fall of 2020, there’s no better time to check it out than this weekend.

Tomorrow, Sept. 24, Houston Botanic Garden celebrates its second birthday with a special family-friendly festival of food, games, and outdoor activities — and the Houston debut of New York-based artist Sean Kenney’s award-winning touring exhibit Nature Connects® Made with LEGO® Bricks, a colorful and elaborate installation of 16 sculptures inspired by nature and created entirely out of Legos.

Nature Connects features birds, butterflies and squirrels alongside some creatures you wouldn’t expect could be realized with plastic bricks — including a praying mantis, a pileated woodpecker mounted on the trunk of a mature tree (just where you expect to see one in the wild), and a life-size human gardener. Kenney and the Garden see the exhibit’s Legos as a metaphor for interconnection, especially humankind’s connection to natural world.

One of the biggest challenges the Garden encountered with the installation of Nature Connects is the fact that Lego bricks just beg to be touched. “We want to make sure visitors can see them from many angles, and get close enough to take photos,” says Katherine Sadler, Director of Operations. “We’ve placed the sculptures thoughtfully within our Susan Garver Family Discovery Garden to minimize the need for bulky or unsightly barriers.”

Amazingly, the Lego pieces in each sculpture in Nature Connects are connected the same way one would build with them at home, a fact that will no doubt inspire young visitors to go home and see if they can build their own bird bath or monarch butterfly. “They allow for endless creativity,” says Claudia Gee Vassar, President and General Counsel of the Garden, of those humble plastic blocks. “We get to take a basic building block and transform it into whatever our imagination can dream up.”

Sean Kenney’s Nature Connects® Made with LEGO® Bricks at Houston Botanic Garden runs through Feb. 19, 2023.

Kenney at work

From Your Site Articles
Related Articles Around the Web
Art + Entertainment
promoted

Leadership in Action: ‘Setting Clear Goals’ Among Secrets of Success for Attorney Jess Bailey

Al Torres
Leadership in Action: ‘Setting Clear Goals’ Among Secrets of Success for Attorney Jess Bailey

How did you get to where you are today? A few key principles integrated into my life: setting clear goals, maintaining a growth mindset, building strong habits, and surrounding myself with the right people. Goals provided direction, while a growth mindset helped me turn challenges into opportunities for learning. Consistent habits, like disciplined work and effective communication, kept me moving forward. Being surrounded by motivated, supportive individuals has elevated my standards and kept me accountable. They’ve provided advice, encouragement, and sometimes that extra push I needed to stay on track. With these elements, I’ve been able to create a framework that helps me succeed and ensures I continue to grow and evolve.

Keep Reading Show less
People + Places
style

Sneak Peek: Check Out Houston-Based Foreign Fare’s Spring 2025 Collection

Arianna Vetere

A new look from the soft landings collection

FROM THE OWNERS of popular Montrose haunts Traveler’s Table and Traveler’s Cart is another jetset-focused business. Owners Thy and Matthew Mitchell launched Foreign Fare in the fall of 2023 with long-haul travelers in mind. The pieces are wrinkle-free and designed to be functional as well as stylish. The line was recently featured in Travel & Leisure as a “first class look.”

Keep Reading Show less
travel

1,500 Miles from its OG Property on Nantucket, Palm Beach’s White Elephant Beckons

The lobby of White Elephant Palm Beach

COVERED IN VERDANT vines and flanked by tall palm trees, the entrance to the White Elephant Palm Beach feels like passing into a stately home, rather than one of the island’s newest resorts. The building is 101 years old, and while the original footprint and façade remain, the interior has a decidedly updated, ultra-luxe beach vibe.

Keep Reading Show less