Website of the Week: The Brothers Brick

Are you an AFOL who has been living in the Dark Ages? 

(Translated: Are you an adult fan of LEGO who has been busy with real life for far too long?)  

Looking for some LEGO inspiration? Check out The Brothers Brick, a blog dedicated to these addictive and ubiquitous, brightly-colored building blocks. There's even a glossary to help translate some of the most commonly used lingo. You can suggest your own creations - include a photo and building instructions - for consideration as blog posts. Follow the instructions for submitting your awesomeness here.

Although this is primarily a blog for adults - and some content may not be wholly appropriate for all ages - kids can find inspiration here too. There are YouTube links to get you started with your builds and extensive links to Flickr photos of amazing LEGO creations. (Personally, I wandered off into Andrew Somers' amazing Flickr photo set of Year End Reviews - news events of the year captured in LEGO format.)

Enjoy and happy building!

Photo credit: C. Slack, via Flickr

Best of 2009 at Mama Joules

I've been reading a lot of "best of ..." lists for 2009 lately, so I thought I'd recap this year at Mama Joules. See what you think of these posts from 2009:


Best Ideas for Gardeners:

Grow a Science Garden

Heinz Wholesome Memories Intergenerational Garden Award

Take the Lead Out of Gardening

Best Ideas for Mixing Art & Science:

Join the Fun at One Million Giraffes

Make-A-Flake

National Gallery of Art's Lending Library

Neuroscience for Kids (includes coloring pages)

Reuse Those Old Crayons!

Best Interview:

Meet a Beekeeper!

The Intelligence of Bees: Meet a Beekeeper! Part 2

Colony Collapse Disorder: Meet a Beekeeper! Part 3

Learning to Keep Bees: Meet a Beekeeper! Part 4

Best Invention:

Flying Car

Best Opportunities for Citizen Scientists:

Ancient Tree Hunt

FrogWatch USA™

North American Moths Backyard Inventory

Project BudBurst

Best Posts About Animals:

Cricket Ears are Amazing

Giant Frog Gets New Friend - Titanoboa

Venom & Vomit: Meet the Tarantula

Best Posts About Science Poetry:

Meet Scifaiku

Science Poem: Intrasolar Interloper

The Fibonacci Poem

Best Use of LEGO®s:

Kerm's Mars Rover

Little Brother's Mars Rover

Best Post of the Year

What is Global Warming?

Have a safe and wonderful New Year! Be sure to check out these fun ways to add science to 2010!

Photo credit: Gordana Adamovic-Mladenovic,
through a Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license via Flickr.

Little Brother's Mars Rover

Not to be outdone by big brother Kerm's Mars Rover, my four-year-old just shared his new LEGO® sculpture with me. Here is Little Brother's Mars Rover:



Personally, I think it looks a lot like the robotic bug he got for Christmas. ;)

Kerm's Mars Rover

I just had to post this. Kerm made a Mars Rover out of LEGO®s. I think it looks like the original, don't you?

Contest: LEGO® Holiday Building Challenge

Have you been working on a holiday-themed LEGO^® sculpture? If live in the U.S. and you are age six or older, visit the LEGO^® Club to learn about their latest contest. You could win a trip for four to the Carribean on Norwegian Cruise Line! Build any size holiday-themed model using only LEGO^® pieces, take a color photograph, and then submit your entry form along with a short (50-word) essay describing your design. Winners will be picked from each age group: 6-9 years, 10-14 years, and 15 and older. But you need to hurry! The entry deadline is January 9, 2009. Good luck!

P.S. If you live outside of the U.S., you might want to visit one of these regional LEGO^® Play Sites: Great Britian, the Netherlands, Germany, and France.

Nathan Sawaya: LEGO® Artist

My friend LD pointed me toward this CNN article -- LEGO artist building bigger career -- about Nathan Sawaya and his nifty LEGO® creations. Sawaya's work is currently on exhibit at the Stamford Museum & Nature Center in Connecticut, with plans to exhibit across the U.S. and into Canada (Visit The Art of the Brick™ Museum Exhibit for more information).

Check out Sawaya's unique sculptures in the Stamford Museum's Exhibition Spotlight or visit Sawaya's homepage at The Art of the Brick™. Although I like his life-size humanoid sculptures the best, I also was intrigued by the world, T-Rex, and PC Mag Computer.