Many of you know I have a fascination (ok, actually an obsession) with LEGO bricks! I’ve managed to incorporate them into my work, but my favorite activity is to use the bricks for my creative play. Yesterday Tim and I traveled to the Franklin Institute Museum in Philadelphia to see an exhibit called “The Art of the Brick”, created by artist Nathan Sawaya. I had high expectations for the exhibit and it didn’t disappoint!! The pieces on display had as few as several hundred LEGO bricks all the way up to several hundred thousand bricks. Some of the sculptures were larger than life!! I was mesmerized and inspired!!
What I hadn’t expected was to have been equally as inspired by another exhibit at the Franklin Institute, one called simply “Your Brain”. To say it was fascinating would be an understatement. There were at least 25 interactive exhibits that helped those engaging with them to better understand the brain and how it works. We loved it!
As a child of a parent with dementia, I’ve become fascinated with how the brain works since Mom’s diagnosis.Tim and I both interacted with every area of the exhibit!! I focused on the parts of the exhibit that examined the benefits of exercising your brain and the importance of the creative side of your brain. I learned more than I had ever expected. There was a section on Alzheimer’s disease of course, which was actually very emotional for me.
I definitely knew that the creative projects I’m building with LEGO bricks are helping my brain, but I didn’t know how much! I’m praying that the more I play, the better my chances will be of keeping dementia away!! I may not be building art like Nathan Sawaya, but I’m building pieces I’m proud of, and building hope that I’ll be able to use my brain fully until the last day of my life. I was so inspired by our trip to the Franklin Institute that the first thing I did after working out this morning was to build the 3-D mosaic below that I really love! I give thanks for my Mom’s encouragement to build and create, and one of my favorite things to do in life is to build creations with her! In spite of her dementia, her brain still remembers how to play with LEGO bricks! Love my Mom!