As the nights get longer and the days get colder, many families seek indoor activities to keep entertained. Well, Montrealers are in for a treat because the Animal Superpowers exhibit recently opened at the Palais des Congrès. The show features 32 monumental statues built entirely from LEGO® Bricks by renowned brick-artist, Sean Kenney. Kenney is a LEGO® certified professional known all over the world for his LEGO® sculptures. Animal Superpowers focuses on the amazing abilities evolved by organisms in the natural world.
As an avid LEGO® fan, I enjoy a good brick-exposition. In fact, Animal Superpowers was not my first rodeo. I caught Art of the Brick by Nathan Sawaya a few years back in New York City. My interest led me to hit up Palais des Congrès in Montreal on opening weekend for the show. Incidentally, Animal Superpowers runs from December 3 until January 7. Ticket prices vary by day and time, with evenings and weekends being more expensive.
| Weekday | Weekend/Evening | |
| Infant (under 5 years) | Free | Free |
| Child (5-12 years) | $17.25 | $23.00 |
| Student (13-18 years) | $23.00 | $28.74 |
| Adult (18+) | $28.74 | $34.39 |
| Family Package (2 adults + 2 kids) | N/A | $91.98 |
See 32 amazing sculptures of animals built from LEGO® bricks.
In total, there are 32 sculptures in the exhibit. I will not show photos of them all here to leave a little bit of surprise. However, you can expect to see:
- Ladybug (30,963 bricks)
- Mother Polar Bear & Cubs (113,263 bricks)
- Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly (37,481 bricks)
- Zebra (58,139 bricks)
- Jeweled Chameleon (49,764 bricks)
- Venus Fly Trap (110,748 bricks)
- Baby Pandas (53,460 bricks)
- Monarch Butterfly (39,708 bricks)
- Caterpillar (46,950 bricks)
- Woodpecker (22,671 bricks)
- Wildebeest (66,655 bricks)
- Hummingbird (36,300 bricks)
- Tree Frog (47,000 bricks)
- Pangolin (51,744 bricks)
- Dragonfly (40,260 bricks)
- Slow Loris (9,786 bricks)
- Orangutan (21,600 bricks)
- Bee (16,383 bricks)
- Hatching Baby Sea Turtle (57,462 bricks)
- Bald Eagle (42,198 bricks)
- Koi Fish (1,937 bricks)
- Disappearing Rhino (86,361 bricks)
- Duck and Ducklings (30,756 bricks)
- Whooping Crane (43,678 bricks)
- Lion (48,248 bricks)
- Bison (45,143 bricks)
- Bison Calf (16,228 bricks)
- Tortoise (23,317 bricks)
- Mountain Goats (88,176 bricks)
- Deforestation (113,500 bricks)
- Snow Leopard (55,044 bricks)
- Dodo (75,000 bricks)
Personally, I found the choice of venue a bit off. Montreal has a beautiful Biodome. I wish these stunning builds were displayed there. However, that would make it harder to charge an extra ticket price if there is already a cover charge for the Biodome. Palais des Congrès felt cold, and the tiny backdrops posted behind the animals did little to bring the scene to life. I would love to see these sculptures dispersed throughout the vibrant biomes of the Biodome. At the very least, Palais des Congrès needs full size backdrops or scenes around each piece. The display facilities left me wanting more.
The builds feature clever usage of LEGO® bricks.
With that said, the sculptures themselves were beautiful. As an AFOL (Adult Fan of LEGO®), I certainly appreciate the art and design of these builds. A sign accompanies each creature with biological information as well as the brick count and build time for each model. The amount of time Kenney spent on these is awe-inspiring. I found myself dreaming of trying to build something similar, if even just one of the smaller models. Additionally, the NPU (nice parts usage) also gives you ideas. For example, the ants accompanying the Pangolin were Minifigure roller skates.
One of the real kickers were the eyes on the models. Incidentally, they were very lifelike. The eyes employed dish and canopy dome pieces to achieve gloss and spherical structure. My favorite model was Deforestation featuring a clouded leopard for that very reason. The eyes captured a deep sorrow at the loss of the forest. Additionally, the piece had a life-sized, brick-built backdrop that many other displays lacked.
My favorite? The clouded leopard.
At the end of the experience, you stroll through a small gift shop. Sadly, adult fans will find little of interest and even smaller selection. Save your pennies for the LEGO® Store or an Amazon sale. I wish they sold a book of Kenney’s art, or something unique to the show. Also, the exhibit is a little expensive for such a cold exhibition space. These sculptures deserve more. Otherwise, LEGO® fans will enjoy the builds in the Animal Superpowers Exhibit. The models impress and they inspire future building. Have you seen Animal Superpowers? Feel free to comment below or reach out on social media.
Until next time,
-Tom
Want to support True North Bricks?
If you like the content at True North Bricks, please follow on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn, or YouTube for regular updates. Additionally, you can support True North Bricks by making your LEGO® (and other) purchases using the links in the menu to the right. As an affiliate of those retailers, we earn from qualifying purchases. These earnings come at no extra cost to you but help to the keep the content at True North Bricks free. Thanks for your support!
Lego is such an amazing product.
You can say that again😀