CSS Nansemond - the Lego version!

One of the historic naval ships that will be available for visitors to build at our 3rd annual Lego Shipbuilding event on February 8, 2014, is the CSS Nansemond. The Nansemond was a twin-screw gunboat from the American Civil War, and the Hampton Roads Naval Museum has a model of this ship on display in the gallery.

CSS Nansemond

The Lego design for this ship was created by our youngest volunteer, 11-year-old Zachary Webb. Zachary came to the museum one day over Thanksgiving break and spent a couple hours working on the design for CSS Nansemond. He had a few requirements to meet: 1) the Lego ship couldn't be longer than 11" in length; 2) the ship had to be made entirely of "regular" Legos--which means he couldn't use specialty pieces; and 3) it had to be of medium difficulty. Zachary did an awesome job, and we are so thankful for his help with this ship! Here's a photograph of Zachary's version of the CSS Nansemond with an image of the ship model right behind it. That will help you to see how close the Lego version is to the real thing!

Lego version of CSS Nansemond

You can come to the Naval Museum and build this ship on Saturday, February 8, 2014, at our Lego Shipbuilding event. The event is completely FREE of charge and will be held from 10am to 5pm. It's for children and adults, and also includes a Lego shipbuilding contest! To find out more information about the event, visit our Facebook page and click on "Events" or contact laura.l.orr@navy.mil with any questions. See you there!