LEGO House: Home of the Brick preview

The LEGO House is days away from opening, so Brick Fanatics joined some of the world’s most dedicated LEGO enthusiasts for a preview of the new venue

On September 22, 2017, several hundred AFOLs arrived at the LEGO House in the heart of Billund for a special preview. The event gave fans an opportunity to see the venue before its grand opening on September 28 and experience the Home of the Brick.

Within the LEGO House there is a square that will be open to the public, allowing visitors to do some shopping and get a coffee. It was there that Jesper Vilstrup and Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen gave a presentation to kick off the LEGO House AFOL day, paying tribute to the fans in attendance and giving particular note to those who had models displayed in the Masterpiece Gallery.

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The majority of the LEGO House requires a wristband for entry. Tickets are booked in advance on the official website, which are then scanned on-site. The wristband is then they key to every experience in the LEGO House, right from when it is beeped on the gate to allow entry.

Attendees climb the spiralling staircase around the tree of creativity, a genuinely breath taking model that demonstrates classic LEGO play themes on its branches. When fans reach the top, they find themselves in the Masterpiece Gallery – three dinosaur builds, constructed in each of the LEGO Group’s brick systems, are surrounded by cabinets showcasing some of the finest work created by the AFOL community.

Each of the surrounding experience zones is focussed on a specific development area; the Red Zone covers creativity, the Green Zone covers social competences, the Yellow Zone covers emotional competences and the Blue Zone covers cognition. Unique LEGO based activities have been designed around each area of focus, some involving physical building, some involving digital experiences and many that combine both.

A key feature throughout the LEGO House is building a memorable experience – guests scan the wristband at selfie stations around the venue, allowing them to store a snapshot from the visit. Almost everything that visitors build is also recorded digitally through the wristband, so although fans cannot take their creations home they can still enjoy them later.

The History Collection is where guests can learn about the LEGO Group’s past, an area of particular interest to AFOLs. With classic LEGO sets from every era on display, visitors can find some curiosity from their childhood to enjoy. A digital experience contains every LEGO set ever released, allowing fans to go through the years and add iconic sets to a virtual collection, that is then exported to the wristband.

On leaving the paid zones of the LEGO House, guests receive a freshly moulded and packaged set of six 2×4 red LEGO bricks, in a polybag exclusive to the LEGO House. Additionally, tapping the wristband at a special station produces a unique card with the attendee’s name and an image depicting a unique way of combining the six bricks. With 915103765 combinations possible, it gives every visitor a unique souvenir.

Mini Chef is a unique dining experience, that uses the interactive technology found throughout the LEGO House and some fun theatre to allow guests to order meals with a touch of LEGO magic. A café and gourmet restaurant also offer food and drink options at different ends of the price spectrum.

An exclusive set, 21037 LEGO House, is available to buy at the LEGO House store, along with t-shirts and exclusive Pick a Brick models. The store also sells a variety of standard LEGO merchandise and D2C sets, with LEGO House branded mugs and magnets on the way for the official opening.

The LEGO House is a unique experience, located in the most appropriate place in the world. Whatever the official guidance says, AFOLs should aim to spend a full day at the venue to really enjoy everything that the Home of the Brick has to offer.

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Author Profile

Graham
Graham was the BrickFanatics.com Editor up until November 2020. He has plenty of experience working on LEGO related projects. He has contributed to various websites and publications on topics including niche hobbies, the toy industry and education.

Follw Graham on Twitter @grahamh100.

Graham

Graham was the BrickFanatics.com Editor up until November 2020. He has plenty of experience working on LEGO related projects. He has contributed to various websites and publications on topics including niche hobbies, the toy industry and education. Follw Graham on Twitter @grahamh100.

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