From the reaches of deep space, to the tiniest building blocks of our universe, LEGO Ideas now present its latest addition to the roster of projects to achieve 10,000 supporters and qualifies for the Review Stage by the LEGO Review Board sometime this September. It’s all about astronomy and physics with these latest Ideas projects from ThomasW and NathanR2015 respectively. Here’s a brief look at these sets and what they can offer.
The Large Hadron Collider
The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN is one of the wonders of modern science and collaboration among nations. Running in at a massive 27km circular tunnel located at the French-Swiss border, it consists of four gigantic detectors namely ATLAS, ALICE, CMS, and LHCb. The LHC is used by physicists around the world to learn more about how our universe came to be by studying the behavior of its tiniest building block – protons and quarks (that’s far enough that I will go about the science behind these things, since I have to admit this is not my cup of tea). The cool thing is that the builder behind the LEGO Ideas LHC, Nathan Readioff, is also a PhD student who is currently based at CERN. The best part is, Nathan also included the instructions in building this set which you can find right here. The building instructions also come with a pretty neat explanation behind the science of the LHC.
This is a stylised model of the LHC, showcasing all four of the detectors at a micro scale size. Each detector model is small enough to fit in the palm of your hand, but crammed with detailed internal systems revealed by cutaway walls – every major detector component is represented by a Lego piece. The models are not strictly in scale with each other, but use the same size base to maximise the detail that can be included and give a more uniform look to the set.
The LEGO Observatory Mountain View
From the tiniest of particles, we now turn our inquisitive eyes towards the skies with the LEGO Observatory Mountain View designed by ThomasW. In terms of play features, the LEGO Observatory Mountain View comes with several compartments that show how a workday is like in the life of an astronomer. The dome of the observatory also opens and turns at slightly varying angles.
The Observatory would have one telescope within the dome and one very small one on the viewing platform. The dome can be opened and turnable. The building can also be opened. Within the building there you can find:
- an Office / Desk
- a Library with books and goodies
- a small lecture room with large windows and a beamer
- and so on (search the details ;o) )
Within the dome:
- Computers
- a telescope
- IMPORTANT: a coffee machine
Outside the Observatory I placed some plants and stones. The Observatory would also contain some minifigures: Male and Female Observers, and some Visitors (a Family and some friends).
The LEGO Ideas Large Hadron Collider and LEGO Observatory Mountain View are the next two Ideas project to join in the ranks of The Addams Family Mansion, The Merchant’s House, Spaceballs-Eagle 5, and our personal favorite, Voltron-Defender of the Universe, all of which are slated for the LEGO Ideas Review sometime in September.