Brick Safari at Brookfield Zoo

Summer has arrived in Chicagoland, and with it comes a special exhibit at Brookfield Zoo’s – the Brick Safari!  Truth be told, there are always special exhibits at Brookfield, more so in the summer when they make good use of their outdoor space.  But the Brick Safari features life-size animals made out of Lego, which puts it near and dear to my geeky heart.

The seriously geeky Lego fan will not be disappointed with these figures.  Not only are they life-size, but information is provided about the statues stating how many bricks were used to build each one, and how much it weighs.  Animal lovers will be delighted by the information provided on each of the animals, including where to find them if any reside at Brookfield Zoo.

Some of the figures ask you to guess the weight or number of bricks; some simply tell you, along with the number of hours they took to build.  The penguin parents ask you to look for their chicks who are placed further along in the exhibit.  For example, the Emperor penguin took 6,900 bricks and 49 hours to build, and weighs 143 pounds; the Rockhopper penguin weighs in at a mere 55 pounds with 3,200 bricks, but took 101 hours to build.

To add to the local fun, The Morton Arboretum also has a Lego exhibit this summer… time to explore!