Amazing Garden Sculptures Made With LEGO Bricks at Reiman Gardens

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Lego Sculpture
Reiman Gardens – Iowa State University – Ames, Iowa
LEGO bison and calf sculpture
© Reiman Gardens – Iowa State University – Ames, IowaOwner

Reiman Gardens is one of the largest public gardens in Iowa. The gardens serve as an entrance to Iowa State University and the city of Ames. The distinctive gardens on the 14-acre site are currently decorated with 27 sculptures by LEGO brick artist Sean Kenney.

The sculptures are inspired by gardens and nature. They range in size from 6 inches to nearly 8 feet. The mother bison is made from 45,143 LEGO bricks and is the largest in the exhibit.

LEGO hummingbird garden sculpture Reiman Gardens – Iowa State University – Ames, Iowa
 © Reiman Gardens – Iowa State University – Ames, Iowa

The 27 sculptures make up 14 displays and were created from nearly 500,000 LEGO bricks. New York-based Sean Kenney is one of only 11 LEGO Certified Builders in the world granted permission by LEGO to build on their behalf.

LEGO sculpture of a gardener
Reiman Gardens – Iowa State University – Ames, Iowa

© Reiman Gardens – Iowa State University – Ames, Iowa

The show is titled “Nature Connects” and is part of the garden’s 2012 Some Assembly Required theme.The show opened in April and has broken attendance records for April and May. “It has been wildly popular, and we’ve gotten a lot of positive feedback,” says Maria Witte, Communications Coordinator at Reiman Gardens.

LEGO sculpture yellow swallowtail butterfly
 Reiman Gardens – Iowa State University – Ames, Iowa

© Reiman Gardens – Iowa State University – Ames, Iowa

Anyone who has accidentally stepped on a LEGO brick while barefoot knows how strong they are. During the opening weekend Ames experienced what Maria Witte describes as “terrible” thunderstorms with wind gust of 60 miles per hour. The staff thought for sure the sculptures would break, but were surprised that all of them held up perfectly.

You can see the first public garden display of LEGO brick sculptures at Reiman Gardens through October 28, 2012.