Traveling Bricks

The Titanic

"The Titanic"

194 pieces  |  Unbranded: B0576

Assembled by Mike Alfare, January 2025

Interaction Rating: 4 / 5 (interaction with the set is encouraged, but use extra care)

December 28, 2024

Shortly after Christmas, Hunter's sister, Rachel, and nephew, Andrew, came down to Richmond for a visit. They started the morning by giving Andrew a tour of the brick sets that had been assembled so far and were scattered around their house. He was amazed by the number of them! Andrew wanted to put together a little go-kart set with Uncle Hunter before they headed to the Museum of History and Culture so they could see the Traveling Bricks exhibit. It was everything they hoped it would be and more. The exhibit was full of transportation-themed builds from giant airplanes and Roman Chariots to a space shuttle almost as tall as the ceiling. There were Viking ships, a Mississippi steamboat, massive freight ships, tractors, taxis, and vintage cars. There was even a scene created to resemble Henry Ford's factory floor for the Model T, which Sarah insisted Hunter take a photo with (you'll understand why after visiting the exhibit about Hunter's Quirks). They stopped for a picture by the 200,000-piece Titanic model, which stretched 883 feet long (Sarah and Hunter's museum exhibit features over 400,000 bricks, twice as many as the giant Titanic!).

Andrew's Microwave Creation

"Microwave"

10 pieces  |  Unbranded: YL001

Assembled by Hunter Williams, January 2025

Interaction Rating: 5 / 5 (interaction with the set is encouraged)

After they saw the main exhibit, Andrew went to play in the brick pit. Just imagine a ball pit full of kits, except instead of foam balls, the pit is full of sharp-edged bricks. The painful nature of LEGO bricks didn't stop kids from doing cannonballs into the pit or making snow angels in the bricks. Andrew had no interest in any of those theatrics. He found a quiet corner of the pit and set about working on a build of his own. The adults hung out at the edge of the pit, chatting. Sarah struck up a conversation with an attendant and learned that part of the nightly regimen was to rake through the bricks while spraying sanitizer all over them. As they spoke, they watched children putting fistfuls of bricks in their mouths. When it was time to go, Andrew brought his project over to show them. He revealed that he had built a tiny microwave, and inside it, he had placed some melted butter for Aunt Sarah (whom he affectionately calls Aunt Butter because she always seems to eat butter with her food). It melted Sarah's heart a little and reinforced the notion that she had been embraced by Hunter's family with open and loving arms. There was a small shelf nearby where all the young builders could display their creations. Before they left, Andrew placed his on the shelf and put a little sticky note on it, saying proudly who had made it.

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