LEGO Sculpture Exhibit by Sean Kenney at the Morton Arboretum
One summer, my boys, nephew and dad drove out from Rockford, Illinois to Chicago for a fun day at the Morton Arboretum. We love being out in nature and had heard that this place was one of the best ways to experience nature in Chicago. The Morton Arboretum was also hosting a very cool exhibit called “Nature Connects®: Art with LEGO® Bricks by Sean Kenney”.
During our walk around the grounds of the arboretum, we would not only see beautiful nature, but also Sean Kenney’s depiction of nature in LEGO form. Being big fans of LEGO, we were very excited!
Since this exhibition was only temporary, we knew that it wouldn’t be there the next time we visited the Morton Arboretum. Just something to keep in mind for your next visit. Check the calendar of events to see what they will have during your trip!
Here are all the cool LEGO sculptures we saw at the Morton Arboretum for this temporary exhibition.
This post may contain affiliate links, which means that at no additional cost to you, I may make a commission if you click a link and make a purchase. Thanks for your support! All LEGO creations in this post were created by Sean Kenney!
Nature Connects®: Art with LEGO® Bricks by Sean Kenney
I wouldn’t call us LEGO experts, by any means, but we sure do like them! We had season passes that year to Legoland in Billund, Denmark, and we also stayed at the Legoland Holiday Village Campground where there were many other LEGO sculptures, but we weren’t prepared for the “cool” LEGO sculptures that we would find at the Morton Arboretum.
As soon as we arrived, we received a map of the grounds, which showed us where we could find all 15 LEGO sculptures. My boys loved anything that had to do with a map, so they, of course, worked together, as any two little boys could, to show us the way to each of the different LEGO animals.
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Luckily for us, the sculptures were pretty easy to find as long as we stayed on the path. I loved how each of the different sculptures were of different animals and creatures that you would commonly find around a lake, since many of these LEGO creations were located around the Meadow Lake at the Morton Arboretum.
Kind of clever, huh!?
#1 LEGO Sculpture: Ant Hill Mosaic
The first of the LEGO sculptures was a mosaic of an ant hill, but to be quite honest, we nearly missed this one. It was in the form of one of those pictures stands, where you stand behind it and stick your head out through a circular hole.
My boys stood for their picture, but we didn’t realize that the picture on the display was made out of Legos. It wasn’t until we saw the sign explaining how many LEGO bricks were used and how long it took to build it, that we realized it was made of LEGO.
Well-done Sean Kenney crew! You fooled us! This mosaic took 12,9900 LEGO bricks and 105 build hours!!
#2 LEGO Sculpture: Birdbath
The next of the LEGO sculptures was a birdbath with red cardinal birds and a squirrel. Cardinals are some of my favorite birds. They came to our backyard every year during fall and winter when we lived in the US. I loved the idea that Sean Kenney chose animals that were native to the area, as well.
#3 LEGO Sculpture: Violet Pansy and Bee
If you love flowers, you will love the violet pansy and bee LEGO sculpture at Morton Arboretum. Bees are so important to nature, that it is no surprise that you’ll see not one but two bees in the Nature Connects: Art with LEGO Sculptures exhibit.
#4 LEGO Sculpture at the Morton Arboretum: Bonsai Tree
Since the Morton Arboretum is very well-known for its beautiful trees, this is one of the only trees at the arboretum that you will inside. The Bonsai tree is actually in a case inside one of the buildings on the grounds and is well worth a visit in my opinion.
#5 LEGO Sculpture: Germinating Acorn
One thing that people might not get to see much of, since it happens mostly underground, is the germination of a plant. Luckily, there is one LEGO sculpture that takes you behind the scenes of a developing plant.
We thought that this was very interesting, and it was definitely something we had never seen before made out of LEGO bricks.
See what other fun things you can do at the Morton Arboretum HERE!
#6 LEGO Sculpture: Hummingbird on Trumpet Flower
I don’t know about you, but I love to watch hummingbirds in the garden. The speed at which they flap their wings always seems to amaze me.
The one that we saw in the Nature Connects: Art with LEGO Bricks exhibit was much larger than any we could see in nature, which helped us get more of a glance at a creature that would normally be too small or too fast for us really to look at in a real-life situation.
#7 LEGO Sculpture: Peacock
The peacock sculpture was one of my boys’ favorites. I think the real bird is such an interesting and beautiful creature in itself, and to see it created out of LEGO bricks was nothing less than spectacular.
#8 LEGO Sculpture at the Morton Arboretum: Grandfather and Child
The next LEGO sculpture at Morton Arboretum was something that we really had a strong connection with, since it was of a grandfather and child working in the garden. Since we had been visiting my parents on our trip throughout the American Midwest, my boys helped my dad out in the garden quite a bit.
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This sculpture seemed to fit our family quite well, as if it was actually made with us in mind! 😉 To build the grandfather and child, it took 46,940 LEGO bricks and 535 hours. Just for the wheelbarrow, it took 29,900 LEGO bricks and 205 hours. That is a lot of time for some garden work!
#9 LEGO Sculpture: Bee
As I mentioned before, there are two bees in the LEGO sculptures exhibit. This one is much different from the first, since this one is very large. I think it is actually larger than my youngest son. I can’t imagine if it were real. It would be like going to Jurassic Park, but for lake/pond creatures! Can you imagine that stinger!? Yikes! 😉
#10 LEGO Sculpture: Galapagos Tortoise with Darwin Finch
Another favorite of my boys had to be the Galapagos tortoise. We love the animal in real life, so seeing a life-size tortoise made from LEGO bricks was really neat. He even had a Darwin finch on his back, which I personally thought was a nice added touch!
We learned that these two creatures are very good companions in nature, so it made sense to have them together in the sculpture. It took 23,317 LEGO bricks and 290 hours to bring these to together!
Check out my video of the LEGO sculptures and more at the Morton Arboretum on our July 2019 trip!
#11 LEGO Sculpture: Herd of Deer
Next on the path to find LEGO sculptures at the Morton Arboretum was the herd of deer. We decided that instead of a herd this was better described as a family. There was a dad, mom, and baby.
Check out the amazing tree trolls that we found at the Morton Arboretum that summer HERE!
A family scene such as this really is quite nice to look at. I think the boys look at the animals as members of our own family, but there needed to be two baby deer to represent our family!
For all three deer, it tool the builders 540 hours working with 84,442 LEGO bricks. That is just amazing!
#12 LEGO Sculpture at the Morton Arboretum: Roseate Skimmer Dragonfly
Another larger-than-life LEGO sculpture was the roseate skimmer dragonfly. I thought it was interesting that Sean Kenney decided to create such a large dragonfly when other animals such as the deer were more of a normal size.
I’m sure it would have been difficult for viewers to see the details of a dragonfly if it were closer to normal size, but this dragonfly was longer than I was tall. It was really neat, though.
For the biggest dragonfly you will ever see, they spent 575 hours and used 27,788 LEGO bricks!!
#13 LEGO Sculpture: Monarch Butterfly on Milkweed
One of my absolute favorite creators of the entire place was the monarch butterfly on milkweed. I am a lover of butterflies to begin with, so it is no surprise that I absolutely loved the LEGO butterfly sculpture. In my opinion, the exhibit wouldn’t be complete without a butterfly.
The summer of 2019 seemed to be a time when butterflies were everywhere, so it made a lot of sense for there to be a LEGO butterfly sculpture at Morton Arboretum.
#14 LEGO Sculpture: Pileated Woodpecker
The pileated woodpecker was fun to find, since he was actually on the side of a tree a bit higher up than what we could reach. It was fun to see this LEGO bird in a very natural position, and it gave us a different view of him.
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My boys mentioned that it was nice that it wasn’t a real bird, since you never know what might drop on you if you stand below one. This sculpture was made of 4,424 LEGO bricks and took 40 hours to build.
#15 LEGO Sculpture: Corn Spider
I’ve got to be honest; I spent a large portion of my childhood being very afraid of spiders. I also know of a specific cousin who carries a can of bug spray with her when she is outside, just in case she has an unwanted encounter with a spider.
Luckily though, that fear seemed to have left me long ago back in the days of tight-rolled jeans and teased bangs, so I could actually enjoy the wonder of Sean Kenney’s LEGO corn spider.
I loved how it was hanging above us along the side of the welcome center. It made it seem very real, but the colors were so much better. One thing that was for sure, I was very glad that it was just a LEGO sculpture, since it was, like the bee, bigger than my youngest son. YIKES! 😉
Check out the shadow in this picture!! Spooky!
Thoughts of the LEGO Sculpture Exhibit at the Morton Arboretum
If I have to pick a favorite of all the LEGO sculptures at Morton Arboretum, it would be very difficult. I just know that they would all look really nice in my backyard/garden in Denmark.
I know there are plenty of people who have garden gnomes, but I think it would be much better to have a large, LEGO butterfly next to a LEGO birdbath filled with LEGO cardinals, the state bird of Illinois, under a tree with a LEGO woodpecker. Don’t you agree!?!
Which of Sean Kenney’s LEGO sculptures was your favorite? Let me know in the comments below!
Learn More about Sean Kenney’s LEGO Creations
Website: https://www.seankenney.com/
Where to Find Sean Kenney’s Exhibits: https://www.seankenney.com/exhibits/
Getting in Touch with The Morton Arboretum
Address: 4100 IL-53, Lisle, Illinois 60532 (USA)
Telephone: +1 630-968-0074
Website: https://www.mortonarb.org
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