Kids have constructed the world's largest American flag made entirely from LEGO. It happened at the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of American History in Washington D.C., and it was built by LEGO master builders and American Innovation, just in time for the 4th of July.
There were many hands of kids and their families involved (15,000 museum visitors total) in the making of this flag, as instructions provided ways for red, white, and blue sections to be made. These hollowed-out sections were then all connected together by Dan and Chris Steininger, LEGO "master builders" to form an American flag that has a waving effect and made up of over 100,000 LEGO bricks.
Dan Steininger has stated that the LEGO American flag was a "massive but it's a pretty simple pattern to follow". The flag is 9.5 by 14 feet, and weighs about 546 pounds, and it took about 16 hours to design.
According to ABC News, a total of six master builder teams travel around the world to put together projects for LEGO, with Dan and Chris Steininger being the only father and son duo. Dan Steininger said he would begin to build LEGO projects as he brought home LEGO bricks for his son over the holidays. Dan has a background in sculpting and likes the medium of LEGO and had made it into a 26-year career.
The flag project is not only made for the Fourth of July, but it is meant to highlight the opening of the museum's new innovation wing, which has a 45,000 square foot interactive learning space. The Lego American flag has a transparent banner on the front which reads "America Innovates". In addition to the flag, the innovation wing features the history of American business, "hot spots" of invention, and the National Numismatics Collection, which is a showcase of currency and coins.
Of course, making an American flag with LEGO bricks is practically a tradition, and I'm not talking about Independence Day or the Fourth of July. Considering that LEGO bricks come in various red, white, and blue colors, most kids, including me and my own kids, have constructed a LEGO American flag at some point in time. Usually the red and white stripes are easy, but even this master builder creation used simple squares to represent the stars. It is pretty impressive that it was planned to have 50, and that he flag appears to be waving, even though it would have been easier to do a simple straight flag.
If you are interested in seeing a time-lapse photography video detailing the construction of the giant LEGO American flag, head on over to this site on Buzzfeed and see it develop.
