The newest exhibit at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science explores different ecosystems, biomes and symbiotic relationships.
The medium? Lego bricks.
The exhibit, called “Brick Planet: A Magical Journey Made With Lego Bricks” is made up of 1.5 million Lego blocks crafted into scenes by Sean Kenney.
“Brick Planet” takes you through different ecosystems and biomes, both natural and manmade, showcasing everything from polar bears to bugs to Times Square.
The throughline of the exhibit are the different symbiotic relationships in our world.
Bridget Chalifour, the curator of the exhibit and a genomic scientist with the museum, said her favorite example of a symbiotic relationship in the exhibit is the Galapagos tortoise and a finch.
“This is an example of a special kind of symbiosis called mutualism. That's where both species benefit from having that relationship with each other. The finch comes in and flies around the tortoise's head, and that signals to the tortoise, ‘It's time to stretch all my limbs and my neck outside of my shell,’” Chalifour said. “The tortoise does that, and the finch comes in and eats all of the parasites off of the tortoise. So the tortoise gets to be cleaned, and then the finch gets this really easy stable snack on the go.”
The tortoise and finch statue was already complete when Chalifour and her team went out to Las Vegas to first tour the exhibit and find ways to tweak it for audiences in Denver.
Throughout the exhibit are markers called “Sean-Oculars,” which show how the Lego artists were able to imagine a scene like a mother and child riding a bike together, but in Lego form.
When Chalifour and her team were trying to Denver-fy the exhibit, they thought of Colorado through “Sean-Oculars.”
One unique feature at the DMNS version of this exhibit is the brick-stylized photos of Colorado landmarks like Red Rocks and downtown Denver. Artist Patrick Kennedy created pictures in a style that looks like bricks that get less blurry the closer you look at them.
The exhibit also has interactive installations where kids can build their own Lego brick art and interactive installations like mystery mosaics created by Sean Kenney, the Lego artist.
“I think there's something interactive for everybody in there,” Chalifour said. “I think that playing with Lego bricks is not necessarily limited to one age range. I would say don't think of it as a kid-only experience.”
Transporting the exhibit wasn’t too complicated. The 1.5 million bricks are “more stable than you might think,” Chalifour said. The sculptures are reinforced.
“If you put together all of the hours that Sean Kenney spent working on all these sculptures, and translated it into a standard 40-hour work week, it’s seven years of his life,” Chalifour said. “So it’s like no pressure, let’s make sure everything gets here safely.”
“Brick Planet: A Magical Journey Made With Lego Bricks” at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science opened Nov. 14 and runs through May 3, 2026. The exhibit is included with general admission.
