LEGO Built a Life-Sized Astronaut Model to Celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Apollo 11

The LEGO Group is honoring the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission in a way that only LEGO can: with a life-sized astronaut model constructed entirely from LEGO blocks.

The 6-foot-3-inch model matches the space suit worn on the Moon by astronaut Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin on July 21, 1969, down to the American flag patch on his left shoulder. The front of the helmet even mimics the well-known photo of Aldrin standing on the Moon’s surface, with his helmet reflecting his own shadow and fellow Moon-walker Neil Armstrong in the near distance.

The feat took a team of 10 designers and LEGO Master Builders 300 hours and 30,000 LEGO bricks to complete, and you can see it in person on Washington, D.C.’s National Mall as part of the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum’s Apollo 50 Festival from July 18 to July 20.

Though the astronaut model is already complete, there’s still tons to build—during the festival, you can help Master Builders assemble mosaic backdrops of the Moon and Mars, and you can even lend a hand in the construction of a 20-foot-tall replica of NASA's Space Launch System rocket, the vehicle NASA is developing to potentially use to send humans to Mars in the future.

The LEGO Group is also displaying an 11-foot-tall replica of a rocket at the Ontario Science Centre in Canada from now through September 2. It contains not only an impressive 80,000 bricks, but also built-in lights, sound, and a fog machine to simulate a rocket launch.

It’s all part of a LEGO initiative to inspire a new generation of children to be enthusiastic about—and personally involved in—the future of space exploration. In addition to its brick-based efforts, the company is currently partnering with Scholastic on a program to send 50 kids to NASA Space Camp next year. “We will continue to inspire children to dream about what’s possible and to grow up to pursue STEM careers, said Bettina Inclán, associate administrator for communications at NASA’s Washington, D.C. headquarters.

Check out LEGO’s space-related collections—featuring Mars exploration, women of NASA, a recreation of the Moon landing, and more—on its online store.

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