Brick by Brick: LEGO Shipbuilding Education Program

One of our summer volunteers, Breena, helps a child build ships at H.C. Downing Library, June 2015.

For HRNM's education department, the summer months are usually pretty quiet. Visitation increases exponentially and we offer a number of additional activities in the museum, but aside from that, since school is out we don't often do many educational outreach programs during that time. This summer is different, though--we're offering our Lego Shipbuilding program at several branches of the Norfolk Public Library system. The program is open to "school-aged" children and teens, so we have a wide variety of age groups in attendance. Due to this huge gap in ages of the attendees, we've created a less math-intensive version of our middle school-focused Lego education program for the summer. Instead of asking about surface area, fractions, and percentages (concepts that most of our summer program attendees haven't yet learned), the students learn the basics of how ships were built in the 1700s versus how ships are build today--then they get to build the Lego versions of those ships for themselves.

We've done two of these programs already and have three more scheduled this summer. Our next program is this Wednesday at Park Place Library, so we hope to see you there. We'll also be at H.C. Downing Library on July 20 and July 23. Call the libraries to register for this fun, FREE educational event today!

Tara, another summer volunteer, works with a student to build a ship at H.C. Downing Library, June 2015.

Brick by Brick: Lego Shipbuilding 2014

Calling all Lego ship builders!  On Saturday, February 8, from 10am to 5pm, the Hampton Roads Naval Museum will bring back its “blockbuster” LEGO Shipbuilding event for a third year. This FREE program invites LEGO shipbuilders of all ages to share their creations with fellow enthusiasts on one exciting day – and compete for fabulous prizes!

This popular signature event is presented in partnership with the Hampton Roads Naval Historical Foundation, the Naval Historical Foundation, and Bricks 4 Kidz.  Children and adults alike can bring their pre-constructed LEGO ships (either from a kit or from scratch) to display at the museum prior to 2pm on February 8th. HRNM will award prizes for five winning age categories, along with a new category this year—“fan favorite”—voted on by YOU!

Don’t have a ship made already but want to be part of the contest? Never fear! Throughout the day, visitors can stop by a free-play station and build their own ships. Educators will also be on hand to share the science behind building ships with LEGOs. In addition, visitors can create historic naval ships from HRNM’s own diagrams. Each year, staff members add new ships to their on-site brick fleet. New ships this year include the USS Onondaga, USS Maine, and CSS Nansemond.

Several LEGO-related activities will accompany the event, so be sure to bring your creativity to the Hampton Roads Naval Museum. Please note: all creations made with HRNM-owned LEGOs must stay at the museum. 

For all questions and inquiries, please contact Laura Orr at laura.l.orr@navy.mil or 757-322-3108, or visit HRNM’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/HRNavalMuseum.

2014 LEGO Ship Designs Announced

LEGO Shipbuilding is one of the most popular programs and events we have done in recent history.  Nearly 2,000 people came out for a day of ship building, contests, and demonstrations from local user groups and businesses.  We are currently planning our 2014 LEGO Shipbuilding event.  A middle education program based on the event is now available for schools and school groups around the Hampton Roads area as an in-house or outreach program (FREE of charge).

Every year, staff at the Hampton Roads Naval Museum pick out new designs for ship models participants can build in the gallery during the event.  Designs from each year are put on our website as build-able
models for FREE.  Understanding that LEGO bricks are expensive, all models are made layer by layer using only standard LEGO bricks available in stores across the country.

All ship designs included in the Brick by Brick: LEGO Shipbuilding Program are created from models included in our museum gallery.  With this in mind, we are pleased to announce the new designs for the 2014 LEGO Shipbuilding Day at the Hampton Roads Naval Museum:

CSS Nansemond

Twin-Screw Gunboat

American Civil War 

USS Onondaga

Double-turreted river monitor

American Civil War 

USS Maine (BB-2/c, ex-ACR-1)

Second-class Battleship

Spanish-American War 

USS Alabama (BB-60)

South Dakota-Class Battleship
World War II

USS Stump (DD-978)

Spruance-Class Destroyer

Cold War/Post Cold War 

Stay tuned for more updates as we get close to the event!  It's time to get building for 2014!

Brick-by-Brick: Shipbuilding with LEGOs

Finished LEGO model of USS Monitor built by Sam Nelson

We're always looking to create new programs, and our interns have been working on a cool new idea recently. This one involves using LEGOs to build ships. This shipbuilding program utilizes science, technology, education, and math (STEM) skills in a fun way so participants can learn about the principles of shipbuilding. STEM is an Office of Naval Research-led program that is meant to increase the talent pool of future Sailors, naval engineers, and scientists.

Depending on participants' level of interest and expertise, they can either follow instructions for building a ship created by our interns, Sam Nelson and Jordan Hock, or they can build their own ship. This program will be for both adults and children. More details will be coming in the very near future!