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

Theresa Roemer Is an Entrepreneur and Podcaster with Great Audience Connection

Theresa Roemer Is an Entrepreneur and Podcaster with Great Audience Connection

I AM AN accomplished philanthropist, esteemed motivational speaker, renowned fitness expert, and host of an engaging podcast UNHINGED. Through my diversified endeavors, I have established several successful ventures, including TR Beauty and The Vault, a private community catering to like-minded people. Additionally, I am the founder of Houston Style Icons, a platform dedicated to honoring and acknowledging Houstonian style, and Fashion Woodlands, an annual fashion show that I have meticulously curated. Furthermore, I actively engage with my audience through my YouTube channel, providing valuable content and insights.

Keep Reading Show less
promoted

Fall Philanthropy Report: Children’s Assessment Center Touts ‘Healing’ for Child Abuse Victims

What is your mission? The Children’s Assessment Center (The CAC) provides healing services to over 6,300 child sexual abuse victims and their families each year. We offer forensic interviewing, family advocacy, mental health services, medical care, and court services at no cost. We facilitate community outreach and prevention training to raise awareness about child abuse in our community and how to keep children safe. Last year, we provided prevention training to over 35,000 community members, including 23,500 children in schools.

Keep Reading Show less
promoted

Fall Philanthropy Report: Urban Harvest Farmers Market Helps ‘Transform Food Accessibility’

What year was your organization launched? Urban Harvest’s Saturday Farmers Market started in 2004 with just seven vendors, providing an outlet for local farms, community and backyard gardeners to sell fresh produce harvested directly from their soils. Now in its 20th year, the market has grown to be one of the largest markets in Texas, supporting over 100 local farmers, ranchers, and food artisans all from within 180 miles of Houston. The market draws 3,000 customers every Saturday morning and includes many original vendors like Animal Farm, Atkinson Farms, and Wood Duck Farm.

Keep Reading Show less