TULSA, Okla. –
The Tulsa Botanic Garden is welcoming spring with a colorful exhibit designed to help visitors better understand the natural world.
The traveling exhibit, called Nature Connects, features 21 sculptures made entirely of Lego bricks by world-renowned Lego artist Sean Kenney. The pieces are spread throughout the garden’s five formal gardens and include animals, insects and even equipment used to help maintain the grounds.
“We have what’s called Nature Connects made with Lego bricks by world-renowned Lego artist Sean Kenney,” said Chuck Lamson with the Tulsa Botanic Garden.
Each sculpture is paired with a plaque detailing how many Lego bricks were used, how long it took to build and why the subject is important to nature.
“And they all come with information about how many Lego bricks, how long it took to make it, and also talks a little bit about why this sculpture was important in terms of nature,” Lamson said.
The exhibit highlights figures such as hummingbirds and butterflies while encouraging guests to think beyond the colorful displays.
“Even though it’s a Lego sculpture, what the importance of a hummingbird is or what the importance of a butterfly is,” Lamson said. “Yeah, they’re colorful, and they’re cool to look at, but you know, what’s important about them?”
Lamson said hummingbirds are a key example. While they can be difficult to spot during a visit, they play a critical role in pollination.
“We have hummingbirds here in the Tulsa Botanic Garden, but they come to our pollinator areas early in the morning and right before sunset, so there’s a lot of times people don’t get to see them, but they’re instrumental in helping to pollinate the flowers in the garden,” he said.
Garden leaders say the larger message of the exhibit focuses on how ecosystems support daily life.
“The focus is on, you know, how nature interacts with, you know, our world and how we need to be aware of it and kind of respect what’s going on in nature,” Lamson said. “I think there’s people who really need to understand, you know, the importance of the natural world and how it contributes to human survival, our food sources and all that.”
Visitors can explore the exhibit using a map or by participating in a scavenger hunt.
“People can come out here, they can read the signs and interact with them, and then also, I mean, there’s kids who love Legos, but there’s adults who love Legos as well, and you can come out here, you get your scavenger hunt or you just take the map and follow it around,” Lamson said.
“Art can be many different things, and I think what he does adds a lot of color to the garden because we’re still just coming back to life right now, but there’s a lot of colorful pieces in the garden so people can wander around and hopefully they see some nice plants that they like too,” he said.
Nature Connects runs from March 1 through May 4 at the Tulsa Botanic Garden. The exhibit is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and is included with general admission. Tickets can be purchased at TulsaBotanic.org.
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