While I am often very much a planner in almost all aspects of life, I enjoy both the challenge of spontaneity and the relief of not having to plan certain parts of my life. So I awoke without an alarm and got ready to go to the gardens. I noted that there was a QR code which would likely have more information and a map and the like, but ignored the impulse to check it out. Instead, once I showed my membership ID, I put my headphones in and headed out aimlessly, with the intent to discover as many of the exhibits as I could without the aide of a map.
The first few exhibits were right through the doors. Actually, there were two exhibits just outside the entrance before you even pay admission, as well as a few murals in the Pollinator Garden near the parking lot, which I discovered at the end of my journey. But besides those, once you're past the admission desk and through the doors, there are several bunnies, a couple gardeners and a dog. I took some photos and ventured on.
I spotted a red blur in flight, and when it stopped in the tree, I stopped to snap a few photos of the cute little bird. The lighting was poor but I was able to enhance it on my phone. I moved on and continued to discover additional statues and murals built of Lego.
One thing I really loved and appreciated was that the signs had a little blurb about the art and a little blurb about the science. This makes it a memorable and fun learning experience, I suspect, for kids and adults alike even.
I made my way to the Rose Garden and found a dazzling sculpture there of a rose, fitting. As I carved my way through the curvy paths, I was reminded of my labyrinth experience and reflected on the ever so slight distracting annoyance of having to make decisions about which way to go every few feet. What I loved about the labyrinth was that it made all the decisions for you, you had but to choose to walk it, and the path took care of the rest. That's what promoted the meditative experience I had while walking the labyrinth, albeit too short of lengths for my preference. A trade off, I presume, between the length stretches I could walk here in the Rose Garden versus a labyrinth. If only we could combine the two - having a single path over a larger scale. That's Ikea, I suppose.
Not knowing where I would find the next exhibit, I ventured into the Japanese Garden and walked a majority of its length, finding no Lego exhibits there. I would later confirm with the map that the Japanese Garden was, indeed, left alone, without a single Lego piece, and just the tranquil peace.
Outside of the Japanese Garden, I spotted a *POP* of color which I took to be my next lead. I found more sculptures and enjoyed reading the plaques in front of each.
After more than 2 miles of walking, I decided to start making my way back to the car, when I spotted a red tailed hawk wrangling a recent kill. It spotted me before I saw it, and raised its wing to protect its hunting trophy from me. I think this is one of the funniest behaviors of the animal kingdom. I was reminded of the time a turkey vulture danced around its catch with both wings extended while I walked widely around it to retrieve my car from the street shortly after I moved into my house in Texas. If only the birds of prey knew I have a much better meal awaiting me at home, and that their breakfast was not tempting to me in the least! After photographing it from the distance at which I stopped, it eventually was startled away by unaware kids coming up the path the other way. I tried to follow it to see where it would land in the tree, but it was too fast for me to track it.
After a quick stop at the restroom and gift shop, I headed out to my car, clocking more pops of color in the Pollinator Garden, as previously mentioned. So I wandered down that path which I usually skip, and found a few more murals that were totally worth seeing.
Finally, at my car, I pulled up the website from the QR code and checked the map. Verifying the list against my memory, I was happy to see I had found all but one of the exhibits on my own. I chuckled at myself thinking that I was too close to stop now; like Pokemon, I gotta catch 'em all! The last one was not in the gardens proper; it was by the research institute, to which I know of no (other) reason to go. So I drove over to the entrance and popped out of my car for a quick photo. So lesson learned: if you're missing one (the zebra mural), do not remorse, it is easily accessible by car on your way out of the parking area.
About Nature POP!
The exhibit runs from May 22 to September 17, so you have plenty of time to POP out to the gardens to see it! This marks artist Sean Kenney's second major showcase at the venue, arriving five years after his "Nature Connects" exhibition occupied the grounds.
By the Numbers
This is the 14th stop on the tour. I calculated just under 800,000 Lego pieces - 792,166 to be exact. At an average retail price of $0.13, that would be $102,981.58 worth of Lego! Although, the artist likely got a wholesale price closer to 6 cents per brick, or $47,529.96. The rabbits are 1496 pieces altogether, so that's an average of 71 pieces per bunny.
The Next Stops: Cities Scheduled After Fort Worth
Once the installations are carefully disassembled, packed into customized, foam-lined logistics crates, and loaded onto freight trucks at the end of the summer, they are booked to head to the following locations:
Omaha, NE (Scheduled to open January 16, 2027)
Winchester, VA (Scheduled to open May 27, 2028)
If you want to have a little fun, try either the Scavenger Hunt or Quiz I've created, here:
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