J.B. Spector/Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago
"Brick by Brick," a new exhibition at Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry showcases the work of professional Lego builder Adam Reed Tucker.
J.B. Spector/Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago
The exhibition includes a plastic building block replica of the wooden American Eagle roller coaster at Six Flags Great America theme park in Illinois.
J.B. Spector/Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago
The Lego American Eagle is 12 feet long, took 55 hours to design and 70 hours to build. It's made up of 14,500 bricks.
J.B. Spector/Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago
The Roman Colosseum took Tucker 120 hours to design and 75 to build. It's one of many architectural wonders of the world on display at the exhibit.
J.B. Spector/Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago
This Lego replica of the Great Pyramid of Giza is 12 feet long and took 50 hours to design. The "Brick by Brick" exhibition is on display until February 2017.
J.B. Spector/Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago
The pyramids took 45 hours build and are made up of 24,000 bricks. A close look reveals that the corner contains rare Lego pieces that are no longer made.
J.B. Spector/Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago
Tucker even manages to create a replica of the Colorado River's Hoover Dam, with plastic instead of concrete.
J.B. Spector/Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago
The semi-complete Lego dam replica stands at 5 feet tall, took 215 hours to design and 160 hours to build. It uses 42,800 bricks. The original, which straddles the Nevada-Arizona border, took five years, opening in 1936.
J.B. Spector/Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago
The Lego recreations are not limited to earthbound wonders. There's even a model of the International Space Station.
J.B. Spector/Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago
Tucker, he says, hopes "people looking at my work will also appreciate and learn about each architectural wonder and the creativity and imagination that's possible with the Lego brick."
J.B. Spector/Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago
"As I design and build, I gain a greater appreciation for the structure I am working on and try to capture the essence of the building in its sculptural form," Tucker says.
J.B. Spector/Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago
Despite the incredible attention to detail, Tucker says his work is often the result of trial and error.
J.B. Spector/Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago
Sprinkling some Disney magic on the exhibit, Tucker built a replica of Cinderella's Castle. He explains, "I'm just an artist trying to repurpose a child's toy as a creative tool."
J.B. Spector/Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago
Tucker's plastic replica of Dubai's Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world, took "only" 16,500 bricks to build, 45 hours to design and 60 hours to build.
J.B. Spector/Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago
In real life, the Gateway Arch monument in St. Louis, Missouri is covered with stainless steel.
J.B. Spector/Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago
The real version of the One World Trade Center in New York City is the tallest skyscraper in the Western Hemisphere.
J.B. Spector/Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago
The Chicago exhibition encourages visitors to try hands-on challenges like building and testing structures that could withstand earthquakes and high winds.

Story highlights

New LEGO exhibition showcases wonders of the world in building blocks

Adam Reed Tucker's structures contain as many as 64,000 bricks

The 7,000 square foot exhibit is open until February 2017

London CNN  — 

At last a museum exhibition that can tick off everything on a bucket list – so long as it’s a plastic bucket list.

Chicago’s Museum of Science and Industry has opened a 7,000-square-foot display of the planet’s architectural wonders made entirely out of Lego bricks.

From the International Space Station and the Roman Colosseum to the 60-foot-long Golden Gate Bridge, the collection includes more than a dozen Lego-built giant engineering marvels.

Titled “Brick by Brick,” the exhibition is the work of Chicago-born Adam Reed Tucker, one of only 14 people around the world certified as a “Lego professional.”

Despite the incredible attention to detail, Tucker says his work, involving up to 64,000 bricks and hundreds of hours of labor per structure, can be the result of trial and error.

MORE: Legography in Hong Kong

Hands-on challenges

“As I design and build, I gain a greater appreciation for the structure I am working on and try to capture the essence of the building in its sculptural form,” he says.

“My hope is that people looking at my work will also appreciate and learn about each architectural wonder and the creativity and imagination that’s possible with the Lego brick.”

The exhibition offers visitors to try for themselves with hands-on building challenges.

They’ll also have the opportunity to see some futuristic Lego structures, designed by global architecture firms to highlight challenges like climate change and population increases facing the planet’s cities.

“Brick by Brick” runs until February 2017.