A brand new exhibit at Science World gives people the chance to dive into the world of two of the most popular topics among both kids and adults – space and LEGO.
Behind this new wing of the beloved Vancouver attraction is Abbotsford's own Robin Sather, who is one of only 24 LEGO-certified professionals in the world.
Sather acted as the concept designer and coordinator of the project, working alongside NASA Solar System Ambassador and Science World manager of educator programs, Jennie "Starstuff" King, during every step of the process.
After two years of hard work, the exhibit has opened its doors to the public, inviting people of all ages to see how LEGO can make space exploration and science more interactive than ever before.
Throughout the area are 12 large LEGO sculptures, plus many other smaller models, displays, and building stations.
"When you count all of the displays, there are over 300,000 pieces of LEGO, which represents more than 1,800 hours of build time," Sather said.
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Bringing something so big together wasn't a solo effort, explained Sather, with the exhibit including efforts by countless people, not just in Canada but all around the world as well.
"My job was sort of to get the ball rolling, and then we had international builders from Canada, Poland, Belgium, the UAE, and the U.S. who all contributed builds to this," Sather said. "It's very similar to the ISS, with all of these countries contributing to it."
One of these builders was the U.S.'s Lia Chan, who was responsible for the massive model of the International Space Station, which Sather said may have been the most challenging part of the new exhibit.
"She does so many cool space creations and has actually done an ISS before, but on a smaller scale," he said. "She was super excited to build this model, and everything is on there. I love her level of detail, even down to the little flags on the modules."
Another piece that posed a unique challenge was the astronaut photo models, which are designed to be interacted with constantly and need to withstand those sorts of interactive experiences.
Even though the Artemis Space Adventure with LEGO Bricks exhibit is now available to the public, opening on Thursday (June 26), that doesn't mean it's done growing and changing.
"In a couple of weeks, we're going to start a giant mosaic outside the exhibit, which is a public build where people get to do a little chunk of the mosaic," Sather explained.
He'll also be personally involved in creating another piece for the exhibit later this year, which is still shrouded in secrecy, but is something that Sather said he is very excited about.
The entire exhibit is a love letter to the scientists behind the world's space exploration efforts, with the main namesake being NASA's Artemis program.
This campaign involves several missions that will bring humans back to the moon for the first time in more than 50 years, and eventually carry astronauts to Mars.
"We're celebrating the history of the ISS and things that have happened in space exploration up until now," Sather said. "Then we branch off into what Artemis is about."
The first stage of the Artemis program has already been done, resulting in a successful uncrewed test of the Space Launch System and Orion spacecraft.
The next stage is planned for 2026 and will be a crewed test flight. Subsequent missions in the following years will seek to establish a permanent base of operations on the moon, which will allow for easier missions to Mars.
Sather explained that it was the first humans landing on the moon during the Apollo 11 mission almost exactly 56 years ago that sparked his lifelong interest in outer space.
"I have memories of everyone gathering around the TV to watch it happen," he said.
So when he got the call to help with this new project, he was ecstatic to be able to work with Science World again, especially on a topic that he was so passionate about.
"I've done parts of six exhibits at Science World, and it's always great fun," Sather said. "Science World is very LEGO-friendly."
He hopes that this exhibit will provide people of all ages with not only countless hours of entertainment, but also important life lessons.
"We have lots of different build stations where people can solve challenges," he said. "We have eight specific challenges that kids can build for and test."
It's these challenges that Sather believes will instill an important virtue within those who do them, teaching people about the concept of not giving up when something doesn't work and being persistent until they achieve something they can be proud of.
"In science, we experiment, we learn from the success, we learn from the failure, and we do it again. And we get a chance to do that in this exhibit."
The Artemis Space Adventure with LEGO Bricks exhibit is now open at Science World and will be available until April 6, 2026.
