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

Timeless Appeal at The Village: Sophisticated Retirement Living

Timeless Appeal at The Village: Sophisticated Retirement Living

THE STANDARD BEARER FOR LUXURY

We built The Village communities to exemplify sophisticated retirement living in Houston, surrounded by the heritage neighborhood of River Oaks, Tanglewood and Southampton. Each offers impeccable designer finishes and Aspenwood service detail with dining and resortstyle amenities making them premier locations for discerning Houstonians and their families. Impressive, spacious residential floor plans, generous natural light, and expansive terraces allow a new level of indoor-outdoor living. Beautiful spaces are designed for entertaining, fitness, and relaxation with a dedicated team to provide a secure lock and leave lifestyle for our members.

Keep Reading Show less
parties

Go Inside Houston Ballet's 'Golden' Evening that Raised $1.65M!

Dave Rossman and Melissa Taylor

Lauren Anderson and Fady Armanious

EVER A GLAMOROUS event, the Houston Ballet's annual black-tie ball was a glimmering affair at the Wortham, where 500 guests joined event chairs Kristy and Chris Bradshaw and Melissa Juneau.

Keep Reading Show less
Art + Entertainment
parties

At Posh Tony’s Fete, Baly’s New Doctorate and Life of Service Honored

Alejandro Olivares

Gayla Gardner, Jacquie Baly and Julie Baker Finck

THE DOCTOR IS in! One of Houston’s most engaged civic leaders, Jacquie Baly, has a new title after earning her Doctorate in Education and Organizational Change & Leadership from USC. And some of the city’s heavy hitters turned up for a swanky reception at Tony’s to congratulate her. “Education and community leadership go hand in hand,” said Dr. Baly. “This honor fuels my continued mission to create meaningful change.”

And they weren’t alone in their admiration. Both the City of Houston and the State of Texas declared the day of the to-do “Dr. Jacquie Baly Day,” complete with official proclamations.

Keep Reading Show less
Style+Culture