Skip to content

Building New Westminster, one LEGO block at a time

People Gotta Move gives people an up-close look at the downtown. It's on at the New Westminster Museum at Anvil Centre through the summer and fall.

The newest exhibition at the New Westminster Museum and Archives is chock-a-block with offerings for folks of all ages.

A collaboration between the museum and the Vancouver LEGO Club, People Gotta Move interprets the city’s complex transportation stories through LEGO, artifacts and historic photos. The exhibition, running until Nov. 16, looks at what happened and what happens on the city’s roads, sidewalks, waterway and track through a LEGO lens.

“For better or for worse, New Westminster, as the centre of the Lower Mainland, has always been the thoroughfare for regional movement,” said museum curator Oana Capota. “Our iconic bridge and stations will be in this LEGO version of New West, along with hidden details that visitors will have fun hunting down.”

People Gotta Move, LEGO, New Westminster Museum
Five-year-old Alison Chadsey checks out People Gotta Move. - Jennifer Gauthier

 

A New Westminster resident who recently visited the exhibition was trying to track down Spiderman, having heard he was in there – along with Batman and Superman.

Rob McCullough, the city’s manager of museum and heritage services, said transportation and mobility are big topics in the city, so the idea was to teach people about the history of the city in an approachable way by working with the VLC to incorporate some historic elements around the room.

“It looked fun,” he said about including LEGO. “Our whole focus behind this one was to find something in the summer that could be good for families, something for kids to do when they were off, but also take a serious topic and find a way of having a conversation around it, but make it approachable, basically so people all the way from toddlers up to the elderly can connect with it and get a little bit of a kick out of it. There’s a little bit of tongue-in-cheek stuff in the gallery with LEGO, and these guys have a pretty good sense of humour too.”

The museum tries to collaborate with groups and artists to tell different perspective of the city’s story, McCullough said, but this is the first time the City of New Westminster has worked with the LEGO club. The exhibition is helping the museum meet some of its goals, including helping people better understand the community and bringing new folks into the museum, the exhibition is already meeting that goal.

“By seeing new faces come in and seeing them connect with the story that they otherwise wouldn’t have connected with, it helps them understand the city, understand their neighbours, and it helps us understand them better,” he said. “We are always looking for an expanded audience.”

The combination of LEGO and New Westminster history is attracting visitors of all ages.

“We saw people, first off, coming to the museum that we had never seen here before, which is a win off the hop. It was parents with their kids, and grandparents, all coming together. The kids, their reaction would be to find something in the galleries and then call their parents over to take a look at it. The parents would take a look at it and try to connect with where in the city that was,” McCullough said. “We saw them engaging intergenerationally on the same topic - and a lot of smiles.”

People Gotta Move
People Gotta Move features detailed models of familiar New Westminster landmarks. - Jennifer Gauthier

New Westminster resident Fran Watson was impressed with what she saw at the museum.

“It’s wonderful,” she told the Record. “Somebody told me about and I came to check it out. I really think they have done an excellent job. I have never worked with LEGO. I can’t imagine doing it.”

Port Coquitlam resident Neelofar Ng visited the museum with her husband and toddler, making a day of it in New West that included stops at the petting zoo and museum.

“It’s pretty cool to see how they made all the buildings,” she said. “They look realistic.”

In addition to the Vancouver LEGO Club, New Westminster Secondary School students also contributed to the exhibition. The students had a photography contest to get shots of today’s transportation information that’s included in People Gotta Move.

“New West youth were able to voice their opinions through snapshots of our fascinating community,” said student Selena Uppal. “Organizing a photography contest allowed us to see what amazing things New Westminster has done and what is possible in the future.”

People Gotta Move, LEGO, New Westminster Museum
Six-year-old Kyle Mo checks out the LEGO creations. - Jennifer Gauthier

The museum is planning a number of different programs around the People Gotta Move exhibition, including LEGO camps, a scavenger hunt and a walking tour this summer, as well as LEGO workshops and a school program in the fall.

Located in Anvil Centre at 777 Columbia St., the New Westminster Museum is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. (and until 8 p.m. on Thursdays). Admission is by donation.