Imagine fifteen life-size dinosaurs, all constructed of LEGO bricks, roaring into the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI). That’s what happened on March 15th, when the “Jurassic World by Brickman” exhibition opened its doors to the public.

Two days earlier, THE BEE and a group of some 100 OMSI supporters were given a preview of the displays in the science museum’s two-level “Featured Exhibit Hall”.

Entering the exhibit, visitors walk through a reproduction of the iconic 12-foot-tall Jurassic World theme park gates. Then they marvel at what they see before them – fifty large-scale dinosaurs, props, and scenes, all created with more than 6 million LEGO bricks.

In our preview tour, Kids shrieked with joy as they encountered one hands-on adventure area after another, with a total of 2.5 million bricks to play with – all based on the Jurassic Park story that started with the science fiction novel by Michael Crichton – and over time turned into several motion pictures, video games, and a TV show.

Meantime the adults marveled at features such as the two-ton Brachiosaurus – this one, of course, made of LEGO bricks.

At the preview, Brickman’s Head of Global Exhibitions, Simon Challenor, explained that his Melbourne, Australia, based company – headed by “LEGO Certified Professional” Ryan “Brickman” McNaught, and his team of model builders and craftspeople – construct these projects using standard, off-the-shelf LEGO bricks.

Asked for his favorite part of the exposition, Challenor wrinkled his eyebrows as the pondered the question. “It’s a bit like asking ‘what’s your favorite child?’, to be honest with you.

“But it’s really hard to get past the ‘Brachiosaurus’ – the big model that takes an entire shipping container! But the Velociraptors ‘Blue’ and ‘Delta’ and, of course, the enormous T. Rex, are also pretty impressive!”

This is perhaps one of the most interactive exhibitions ever hosted by OMSI. Activity areas are themed as:

**  Island building
**  Paleontology and discovery through “mystery mosaics”
**  Creating new dinosaurs
**  Learning to track a dinosaur by creating species footprints
**  Building escape mini-vehicles to get away from a Tyrannosaurus Rex

“This exhibition supports our mission because it’s a wonderful opportunity to explore the intersection of creativity, engineering, and science – it really brings these to life in a way that engages visitors of all ages,” explained Akiko Minaga, OMSI’s Vice President of Learning Experiences. “What impresses me most is the size and the intricacy of the pieces; it’s just amazing to me!

“And also, kudos to our sponsors – Boeing and Chevron – for supporting this exhibit at OMSI,” added Minaga. The Jurassic World by Brickman exhibition runs through September 1st. For hours and days, and ticket pricing, visit OMSI’s website – https://www.omsi.edu

And now, if you haven’t seen it yet, take a quick tour of this exhibition – in this brief and exclusive BEE VIDEO – https://youtu.be/iUPdj0RJgUg