LEGO KidsFest: Build Family Memories, One Brick at a Time

Moms, dads, grandparents, and godparents: Are you looking for a special occasion to dedicate to some one-on-one bonding time with your kid? Check out our series of hip happenings that will give the two of you secrets to share and a ritual to return to year after year.

Forget treehouses, blanket forts, and imaginary castles. If your kid disappears often into a world of toy structures, it’s time help her build the city of her dreams; one brick at a time. Need a little help with raw materials and structural design? LEGO’s KidsFest is here for you.

Whether you’re seven or seventy, there’s nothing like building a castle entirely from plastic blocks, a hero you can destroy with a satisfying kick or just sloshing around in a vault of tiny, bright pieces. A trip to this world of LEGOs is a great place for you and your young future architect to build a lasting bond over linked blocks in a city near you, wherever you are.

A Little About LEGOs

Did you know that this quintessential “building block” of an American childhood is actually a family-owned company based in Denmark? Founded in 1932, the company now makes countless sets of themed blocks that are used by millions of creative young structural engineers and architects all over the world.

KidsFest brings kids and families together with master builders and other kids to work through construction zones and create some of the most labor-intensive masterpieces in the LEGO universe. Re-creations of famous structures and characters, models, and miniatures are all part of the fun.

The traveling show makes more than a half dozen stops around the country each year to bring the seeds of imaginative thinking and creative problem-solving to thousands of spirited builders. Hmm… this could be a great opportunity for sibling bonding, too!

All the Pieces

Buy tickets to KidsFest on the website, where you’ll get to choose the show nearest you. A Fest weekend includes Friday, Saturday, and Sunday time slots. A ticket is good for a morning or afternoon session, both of which are four and a half hours long.

Each session is the same in terms of events and exhibits; the separate tickets just allow for more people to have an experience in a smaller, hands-on group that allows maximum participation. But it also means that a day at KidsFest leaves a free morning or afternoon for a special breakfast or dinner with your child and an exploration of the city.

If you’re coming from a bit of a distance, rent a hotel room and make a weekend of it with your kid. Want to add real-world poignancy to your LEGO adventure? Try to visit the place you’ve just built in LEGOs. A fire station, concert hall, tree fort… go for a real-world equivalent of what you’ve built in the Fest. Or, take a tour of the town first, and then build what you’ve seen.

Put it Together

When you arrive at the Fest, you’ll have a few decisions to make. Take photos with LEGO-made super heroes, a museum of large-scale models and worlds of kid fantasy builds. Robots, ninjas, Star Wars characters and Disney princesses all have their own areas at the expo.

Kids who want to build can check out Monochromatic World, Duplo Land, Technix Arena, or simply consult with LEGO’s Master Builders on design ideas of their own. A map of the United States frames a giant pile of LEGOs where on which builders can design their own vertical state, too.

Competitions in the Brick Battle Zone allow kids play games and trade challenges in a variety of brain-building exercises, too. Builders in two dimensions can cast their creations onto a blank wall canvas at the Art Gallery, where LEGO pieces become more abstract and non-structural.

And never fear: you can always take LEGOs home with you, thanks to a massive shopping zone with bricks upon bricks of LEGO excitement to take back to your daily life. The Marketplace is full of blocks as well as LEGO swag. Because who doesn’t want a giant-sized, plush LEGO man to sleep with or a storage bin for the thousands of tiny pieces you’ve got all over your home?

A Masterpiece Awaits

What are you waiting for? Get your sullen child out of the corner where he plays silently with his blocks. If she’s ever to become a world-famous builder, a good dose of collaboration and people-skills is just what she needs. And with this interactive adventure with a community of dedicated builders, that’s just what she’ll get.

If you’re the parent who remembered your LEGO dreams when building or renovating your house, the experience might be as cathartic for you as for her. Share your talents, discover each other’s ingenuity, and together, build your dream house.

Will you be attending the LEGO KidsFest this year? What are some special events your city has to offer? Share with us!

All images Courtesy of LEGO® KidsFest.

Tags : celebrations   hip happenings   outings   lego   bonding   



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