Hundreds of people have already visited the Sidney Museum’s 11th annual Lego display this month, after it officially opened at the beginning of January.
That’s good news, says the Museum’s Executive Director Peter Garnham. That means interest is high — and it’ll probably grow stronger as Sidney’s planned Family Day long weekend hits the Town Feb. 6 to 8.
The Museum’s annual display was the root of the Family Day focus on Lego — as well as the popularity of the most popular toy in the world. Garnham himself is a model-maker and most of the collections at the Museum were put together by him and his sons Jason and David.
This year, collections from Kim Pugh (Lego Friends — a distinctly female version of the building blocks) and Ray Konrath (Star Wars models and scenes) have been added to the display. In all, Garnham said, there are more than 400 models to see — up from the estimated 250 last year. It took, he continued, seven people eight hours to set up all the displays — compared with the 11 hours it took four volunteers in 2015. The work is well worth it for the Museum, he said, noting that last year’s Lego show drew in around 10,000 people. That’s the lion’s share of the estimated 16,000 people who visited the Museum in all of 2015.
In addition to the many Star Wars models and displays, the Museum’s collections include pirates, vehicles and a 6,000-piece Taj Mahal that Garnham said took him 35 hours to build.
As well, there’s a large aircraft display, which ties in nicely with the Family Day weekend theme of aviation. On Sunday, Feb. 7 and Monday, Feb. 8, certified Lego builders will be putting together a six-foot Twin Otter 400 Series airplane, honouring the event’s main sponsor, Viking Air.
Family Day weekend Lego events take place throughout Sidney — check out distinctlysidney.ca for details.
The Sidney Museum Lego display is on until March 30. The Museum is located at 2423 Beacon Avenue and is open between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. daily.