Lego whiz Connor Brennan builds mini hometown

Building with Lego makes teenager Connor Brennan feel right at home.

So the Lego whiz kid has taken on the challenge of building a miniature vision of his hometown, Adelaide.

“At the moment it goes from Victoria Square right down to Rundle Mall and it’s being expanded right down to Adelaide Oval and the Cathedral,” Connor, 17, said.

When finished, the city model will contain more than 15,000 bricks and is the latest pride and joy for the Redwood Park resident, whose previous work has included replicas of the renovated Her Majesty’s Theatre and a new building at his school.

Rome wasn’t built in a day* and reproducing Adelaide — down to details such as traffic, trees and trams — does take time.

“The design took 10 weeks and by the time I’m finished it will probably be about 10 weeks of building as well,” Connor said.

His completed model will feature at the Adelaide BRIXPO, an exhibition of Lego models built by fans of the building blocks.

While it’s too late for Lego fans to submit their work for the event on July 3 and 4, Connor said Lego building was a great way for young people, and the young at heart, to take some time out.

“I’m studying Year 12 at the moment and I find that Lego is just a great stress reliever,” he said.

“This week in particular, I’ve had so many assignments, but after my homework is done, I love getting stuck into the Lego. It’s an escape.”

GLOSSARY

• Rome wasn’t built in a day: a saying that means doing important things takes time and effort, and cannot be rushed

EXTRA READING

World Lego honour for Aussie schoolboy

Dream job of Lego master builder

Lego lost at sea could survive 1300 years

QUICK QUIZ

1. Which capital city is Connor building?
2. Name two landmarks Connor has included in his city?
3. How long has it taken Connor to design the city?
4. How long does he think it will take to build?
5. What Year is Connor in at school?

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CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
1. Lego Landmark
Connor is building his hometown, Adelaide, from Lego. Think of a place near your home that would look great replicated in Lego. It could be a significant landmark or just a place that is special to you personally. Sketch a picture of your Lego design for your chosen place. (If you have Lego and time available you could also continue on to build your model.) Write a paragraph explaining why you chose this place.

Time: allow 30 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English; Visual Arts; Design and Technologies

2. Extension
Connor sees his hobby as a great stress reliever. Make a list of all the things you do (or could do) to relieve stress.

Time: allow 10 minutes to complete this activity 
Curriculum Links: English; Health and Physical Education

VCOP ACTIVITY
Opener Up-Level It
Make a list of all the openers in the article. Pick three that repeat and see if you can replace them with another word, or shuffle the order of the sentence to bring a new opener to the front.

Don’t forget to re-read the sentence to make sure it still makes sense, and that it actually sounds better.