The Art of the Brick {Perot Museum}

Our family is a huge fan of LEGOs.  They are a great tool for STEM education and creative expression but they are also just plain fun.  We were really excited to get the opportunity to go to the Perot Museum's new traveling exhibit, The Art of the Brick.  

The critically acclaimed exhibition touts the largest and most elaborate display of works constructed using only LEGO bricks. Created by internationally renowned contemporary artist Nathan Sawaya, The Art of the Brick is designed to inspire ingenuity and creativity with original pieces and re-imagined versions of some of history’s most famous works of art, including Van Gogh's Starry Night, Michelangelo’s David and Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring. It was amazing getting to hear directly from Nathan Sawaya

Dr. Linda Silver, Eugene McDermott Chief Executive Officer of the Perot Museum. “LEGO bricks are a beloved learn-through-play staple in so many children’s lives. The exhibition elevates a classic toy into the interesting realm of art and science resulting in something meaningful, educational and awe-inspiring.”


The Great Wave Off Kanagawa by Hokusai.  It was built using 2,877 LEGO bricks and it is three-dimensional like the wave is just going to flow off of the wall.

No one can mistake this LEGO creation!  It is, of course, Starry Nights by Vincent Van Gogh built with 3,493 LEGO pieces.

AAAAAHHHHHHH!  There are 3,991 LEGOs making this amazing representation of the painting The Scream by Edvard Munch.  

American Gothic by Grant Wood. 8,303 LEGOs are in this creation.

Mona Lisa by Leonardo DaVinci was made with 4,573 LEGO pieces.

This one looks a little blocky when up close but step back from the screen a little or try squinting your eyes.  It is unmistakably Rembrandt's self portrait recreated with 1,948 LEGOs.

This next creation is so unique!  It is a translucent LEGO creation of the Northern Rose Window at Chartres. It is comprised of 17,842 LEGO pieces.  Although the number of LEGO pieces used is quite astounding, what we really remarkable is the image on the floor below it.  How beautiful!

Whistler's Arrangement in Gray and Black No. 1. It is made with 15,283 LEGO pieces.

Rachel was disturbed by the mostly naked LEGO statues in the next room.  I think my jaw dropped for other reasons.  Look at these amazing works of art....built from LEGO!

You can not possibly miss the looming head tucked away in the corner of the room!

Nefertiti was made with 1,675 LEGO pieces.

I didn't catch the name of this piece but I loved how the water droplets seem to pop out from the wall.

This amazingly huge piece is a self-portrait of Nathan Sawaya in LEGO!

Rachel enjoyed the entire exhibit but she was a bit entranced by the giant T-Rex made from 80,020 LEGO bricks!

We got a chance to talk to the incredible artist Nathan Sawaya.  

The next time you go to the Perot, check out the LEGO Pegasus that greets you at the door.  Guess how many LEGO were used to create this beauty and you could win a one year membership to the Perot!

If you would like to learn more about this amazing LEGO artist you can follow Nathan Sawaya on Facebook.

The Perot Museum is located at 2201 N. Field Street in Dallas, Texas. Museum general admission is $20 for adults (13-64), $13 for youth (2-12) and $18 for seniors (65+). Museum general admission is free for members. Children under 2 are always free. The Art of the Brick requires a surcharge of $10 for adults (13-64) and seniors (65+), $8 for youth (2-12) and free for children under 2. Member tickets are $7 for all age levels.   For ticket information, parking maps and other details visit perotmuseum.org.

New Horizons at the UNT Sky Theatre Planetarium

We had a great field trip the the Sky Theatre Planetarium on the University of North Texas campus in Denton.  We had never been there before so it was fun discovering a new place.  

We went with one of our homeschool groups so it was especially fun to watch the show with friends.  The show we saw is called New Horizons.  


Through the experience we got to visit the surface of each of the planets and some of their moons and learn about how each are unique in their own way.  The show was really great and we all learned something new.

After the show, our presenter gave us a tour of the night sky and taught us about constellations.

Outside the theater we studied models of the Mars Rover and the International Space Station.

The Sky Theater is located inside the Environmental Sciences building on the UNT campus.  We spent some time looking around at the exhibits and interactive stations.  Here Rachel used pedal power to light the attached bulb.  How fun!

Rachel also got to be on TV as she pretended to give a weather forecast.

There were turtles and tortoises to look at.  There were also several natural items on display such as these tree rings. 

There were also several puzzle stations.  Here you had to orient 6 blocks so that they fit flush to the top of the box.  I tried and tried but never got it.  My kids are clearly smarter than me because they both figured it out!

Nicholas also solved this challenge of fitting all of these nails on the head of one nail!

We had a good time a the planetarium and we hope to go back to see some of their other shows.  Since we went as a group, our admission was only $3.00 per person.  You also have to buy a $5 parking pass to park on campus.  Check out the website for more information.

STEM for Your Homeschool: Thinking Like an Engineer by Innovators Tribe {Review}

We've got Math, English, Geography, and History covered in our homeschool curriculum.  We do Science as well but it has been hard to find good STEM curriculum to challenge my children's "tinkering" natures.  We have been trying out a new program I discovered called Thinking Like an Engineer from Innovators Tribe.  It is a well-designed online course that provides interactive hands-on lessons and activities in science, technology, engineering, and math.  We have used the course for a few weeks but I've also looked ahead at the material to be covered in future lessons.  Nicholas and Rachel are having fun with the course and I'm excited to share this review with you.



Thinking Like an Engineer combines its own videos with videos from outside sources as well as hands-on activities for students to complete on their own.  The course is intended for students in grades 6-12 and it can be completed independently without much teacher prep, except when you might need to help them locate a few household supplies for their challenge activities.

The course begins with an Introduction to Engineering where students learn about different types of engineers, the challenge of engineering clean water, and the grand challenges of the world.  They worked on several challenges including the Tower Challenge.  

The challenge was to build a tower as tall as you possibly could with just four sheets of paper and one foot of masking tape.  My kids each built their own towers but it was fun to see them give each other pointers or brainstorm ideas together on ways to make the towers better.

The next section of the course is an Introduction to 3D Design.  Here is where we got to download a CAD program called Autodesk 123D Design!  It is a really cool program and the tutorials for the software are easy to understand.  Students will learn how to design a car rim in CAD!

The additional challenges in this section of the course include designing a piece of furniture in Autodesk 123D Design as well as designing an improvement on some regular household item like a stapler.  My kids love this kind of challenge!  Sometimes their ideas are crazy but other times they are quite amazing.

Next the course teaches about Mechanical Engineering and how to build rollercoasters.  This section has a really impressive challenge that includes students building their own rollercoaster with downloadable paper roller coaster tracks!

The course also covers engineering bridges and comes with a Bridge Construction software that students can download and use to design their own bridges.

There are just so many cool challenges in this program that innovative kids can't help but have fun with it.  In addition to the videos, software downloads, and hands-on challenges, the course also provides students with lots of book recommendations and additional video links to explore their areas of interest further.

Thinking Like an Engineer does not provide grades for students.  I'm having as much fun as my kids as we work through the course together and since I'm right there I know first-hand how they are each progressing through the material.  I could assign grades for them if I wanted to.  However, the course does include a Course Journal that you can have students complete to give some accountability.  


The company that makes this course is called Innovators Tribe.  Their current products include Thinking Like an Engineer and Thinking Like an Architect.  They are currently working on a new course called Thinking Like a Carpenter which will be available soon.

Thinking Like an Engineer costs $149 for 18 months of online access.  However, you will also have access to several different kinds of software to download during the course and you get to keep these programs even after the course has been completed so your children can continue to use them and learn as they go.  PLUS, go to the Innovators Tribe website right now and snatch up 35% savings on any course.  Thinking Like an Engineer is usually $149 but it is only $96 with this sale price.  But this offer ends on 11/11/17 so hurry!
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