National LEGO Day

January 28th is National LEGO Day, and the Neville Public Museum is the proud home of the LEGO Lambeau Field display.

In 2013, 15 students from the Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE) built a scale model of Lambeau Field using over 130,000 LEGO pieces. This opportunity was given to the students by their professor, who claimed that the project was an effective way to practice skills needed for engineering, such as design, scheduling, and estimating. The students took a trip to Lambeau Field to get photos of the stadium, and, using their pictures and Google Earth, they created the blueprint. Even though most of it was built in Milwaukee, it was transported to Green Bay to be finished at the real Lambeau Field in hopes of being displayed at an event on August 3rd, 2013. Alas, it was not finished by then, but patrons were able to watch the work in progress and see a near-complete exhibit. The replica was finished two days later. 

After it was displayed at Lambeau Field, the model was moved to Bellin Hospital. In 2015, it was transported to the Neville Public Museum by Northeast Wisconsin Technical College (NWTC) students who also re-assembled it. The display has only moved once since: from the Discovery Room, now known as the Community Exhibit Space, to the Engineering section of Spectacular Science! It is now one of the first things guests will see upon entrance.

LEGO Lambeau is built on a 1:72 scale, meaning that one inch of the model equates to 72 inches, or six feet, of the original, making the replica measure 15 feet in length, 13 feet in width, and 27 inches in height. Over the course of six months, the MSOE students spent over 1,500 hours on the display. In total, it weighs almost 500 pounds.


With a $100 donation to the Neville Public Museum Foundation, anyone can get a Minifigure of their own in LEGO Lambeau. The number on the figurine’s back represents the order in which it was bought and placed in the stadium. A seven-letter nickname of their choice can be placed on the back of the figurine. The museum welcomes people to bring in their own figurines or buy one from the gift shop to be more customized as well. This can be done online or by filling out the LEGO Lambeau brochure at the museum. Currently, over 110 Minifigures call LEGO Lambeau home.


Mar McKenna

Intern

De Pere High School, Class of 2024

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