As children (and adults) turn to Lego to keep busy in coronavirus (Covid-19) lockdown, the little people inhabiting the construction toy have also been affected by the government’s call to stay off the streets. At the Legoland Discovery Centre in Birmingham, all the miniature Lego figures that populate a reproduction of the city centre have been removed “to support the message of how important it is to stay inside”, says Michele Thompson, the museum’s master model builder.
An empty "miniland: Birmingham made from Lego, with a model of Birmingham Art Museum in the foreground © Legoland Discovery Centre
The miniature Midland city includes a model of Birmingham Art Museum, alongside the city’s distinctive town hall and library building. More than a thousand figures were removed from the displays, with the museum releasing before-and-after images, hoping to encourage people to stay at home. “The mini city was filled with tourists, school groups, commuters and construction workers but the reality is that when you step outside in the real world you don’t see any of that,” Thompson says. The displays will be returned back to normal ahead of the museum opening to the public again. Thompson adds: “It really will be a huge celebration when we can decorate Miniland with it’s residents again.”