A new World Cup attraction at LEGO Discovery Center captures the spirit, chaos and culture of Atlanta
World Cup preparations are underway all across Atlanta, including inside the LEGO Discovery Center's MINILAND, where a fun, family experience is being pieced together one brick at a time.
In just a few days, Atlanta's eccentric LEGO cup will go on display.
Visitors will have the opportunity to interact with the handheld Coke-bottle-shaped build inspired by the iconic World Cup trophy. They will also get to learn about it, directly from the master model builder who conceptualized it and spent over eight hours connecting more than 1,500 LEGO bricks to bring it to life.
Elizabeth Baker has been the master model builder at the LEGO Discovery Center inside Phipps Plaza for three years. She has worked on a rebuild of the Georgia Aquarium model and helped put together the Zoo Atlanta display, but Baker beams when she talks about her latest creation.
"I started specifically with the silhouette of the World Cup trophy and that shape, and of course, there are many iconic things about the city of Atlanta that I was able to include that kind of suited that silhouette," Baker said. "I also knew I wanted to represent different sides of the city ... I have the ATL on the front of the bottle. I have the peach, the traffic. Of course, you can't forget that about Atlanta."
Baker says she also sought out some suggestions during the development process that made it onto the build. One guest recommended adding a symbol to represent Atlanta's civil rights history. So, Baker went to work and pieced together a clenched fist on the side of the cup.
"It was an excellent suggestion," she said. "It was absolutely something we needed to include. Same with this boombox on the back. It represents how important music is to Atlanta and how many great musicians have come from here."
Since Atlanta is the city under a canopy, Baker said she wanted to include a tree on the build, as well.
"You have to always be sure to keep it whimsical and fun, but also always want to respect, you know, real history and real things that happen here are important to the culture," she explained. "It's important to get a little bit of both in there, kind of edutainment."
"Once you have a few good techniques in your back pocket for how to make certain shapes and how to do certain things with LEGOs, you'll find the whole world opens up to you of things that you can build and things that you can figure out how to make," she added.
Baker and her team still have more projects to work on before the entire World Cup display is complete. A remodel of the Mercedes-Benz Stadium inside MINILAND is next on their list.
"We're going to build a whole soccer game on the inside and we're going to add some new banners to represent the fact that the World Cup is going to be happening here," she said. "We really want to create a whole photo op right here in front of this glass so people want to take pictures with the stadium. I'm sure it's going to be a huge attraction."
The Atlanta LEGO cup build is one of 15 creative local tributes going on display at LEGOLAND Discovery Centers across North America.
Families are invited to stop by MINILAND to check it out throughout the duration of the global soccer tournament, weekdays 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. and 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. on weekends.
