Brickman brings world-first LEGO show to Canberra

Plenty of time to get in and see what is a world-first exhibition that explores, Brickman reckons, "the wonders of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) in a way that textbooks never could".

CURIOSITY: Building Breakthroughs in LEGO Bricks opens at Questacon in Canberra on Saturday and will not close until May 11, 2025.

It's worth taking the time to absorb all it has to offer.

There is a life-sized Mars Rover Perseverance made entirely from LEGO bricks (no spoiler here - we'll let you find out at the exhibition how many bricks were actually used to build it).

And a tribute to women in science in LEGO - a monkey in bricks, of course, for primatologist Jane Goodall and a LEGO mobile phone for Hedy Lamarr, who invented the foundation for Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and GPS.

Even the Periodic Table of Elements is re-created in LEGO, with all 118 elements represented in wonderous detail in 118 individual displays.

McNaught and his team built all the displays in Melbourne and transported them to Canberra after working on the concepts for a year.

"Our workshop is in Tullamarine so the logistics of getting an entire exhibition [are huge]. Luckily they filled in all the potholes on the Hume Highway," Brickman said.

"It takes us about a week or so to set it all up here."

The world-first exhibition is an interactive learning experience that brings "science and history to life through the versatile magic of LEGO bricks", particularly the STEM concepts.

LEGO figures introduce the concept of scale while the bricks tease out mind-boggling mathematical possibilities. Such as - did you know six LEGO bricks of different colours equals 658,869,076,800 possible combinations - and the exhibition explains how.

"I call it 'education by stealth'," Brickman said.

"And what that means is that while kids are here to have fun and build things, and use their hands and get creative, they're learning about stuff at the same time. So, yeah, it's a sneaky way of educating."

The displays also include LEGO bricks in Braille to help explain the concepts to sight-impaired people.

Questacon director Jo White said a blockbuster exhibition featuring LEGO was a delight to put on at the science institution.

"LEGO is loved by everyone, including me, and it's a lovely way to explain things as well," she said.

"So the concept of bringing STEM and LEGO together, is a winner. You can take all those ideas of science, technology, engineering and mathematics and make it bold, fun. People are learning and being inspired. But they're also having so much fun."

Visitors will be encouraged to build their own creation in bricks, with stations full of LEGO ready to go. And Questacon is ready for one or two toe-curling pieces of LEGO ending up on the carpet.

"Our wonderful gallery assistants will be here and we're putting more people into the exhibition. We've had some wonderful advice from Brickman. I'm not sure if you can rake it up or sweep it up. But the LEGO is always popular and we'll be hands on with it," Ms White said.