Quest #18 - Flags

What is your favorite flag? Is it a flag of a country, a state, a province, a city or a town? Or is it one you've invented?

Create this flag design (you could use a 2-dimensional mosaic approach), or use the colour or design of the flag to inspire you in any number of ways.

Tell me about your creation and why you picked this particular flag.

Check out this site. They have images of all the country flags of the world.

Here you can see all the flags that other kids from around the world created for this challenge. 

Metamorphosis Photos

by Tal, age 11, Southern California, USA

"The first form of the creature is a lizard-like creature that eats just about anything, from leaves to bugs. And a later version of the creature (after metamorphosis) moves very slowly across the ground, and eats flies. It lives in everyday gardens, but for some reason, NO ONE HAS EVER SEEN IT… until now."

This is an amazing piece of multimedia art! Beautifully filmed, with captivating music. The creatures themselves are unique and mesmerizing! I love how limbs just sort of fall off the horizontal creature and disappear into the sand, only to emerge as something completely altered and vertical! This video shows a remarkable effort Tal!

by Ethan, age 8, Saskatchewan, Canada.

"3-part metamorphosis, it turns from a small fish with mandibles in the first figure, to a crab-like creature in the second figure, and finally to a sea monster with fully developed and grown mandibles.”

I love how all three creature have some of the same elements consistent in their design. Great that you used the same colour and the same eyes. This made it very easy to pick out what was altered in each stage. Great to see the creature get more complex in each phase. Wonderful representation of metamorphosis!

by Austyn, age 6, Ontario, Canada.

"From left to right, an egg, a caterpillar, a pupae in a cocoon, a moth".

Metamorphosis shown at it's finest. I love all the interesting pieces you used to create each unique stage. Very clear and lifelike! I especially like the pieces you used to create the moths wings!

by Keira, age 3, Saskatchewan, Canada.

"Werezebra is a human that turns into a zebra."

I wonder if this happens at the stroke of midnight, on the full moon? I couldn't imagine breaking out in...stripes! Very nice, subtle elements of the zebra apparent in this design with the use of the black and white bricks.

by Finnegan, age 6, Saskatchewan, Canada.

"Wererobot-Dragon in it's two forms. When it is happy it's a dragon. When it is angry it turns into a wheeled robot!"

What an amazing ability to shape shift depending upon mood. I think I might have that same ability?

Metamorphosis in a non-linear fashion, but back and forth. Very interesting creation!

by Ryan, age 11, Lockport, Illinois, USA.

"Evolution of an alien."

I love the strange creature at the beginning, I image it just sort of blobbing around, possibly underwater? The last design is a perfect walking upright specimen. You did a wonderful job of mixing form one and form three to create the middle, second form. Perfect, linear design changes.

by Brendon, age 9, Lockport, Illinois, USA.

"Evolution of man."

So funny! In the beginning, we were mice, then we became the mighty apes, finally, evolving into none other than...yellow man! Wonderful interpretation of Metamorphosis!

by Phoenix, age 8, Coastal North Carolina, USA.

"The vehicle: It is a 4 wheel rover that can become a 6 wheel rover for especially rough terrain. The third pair of wheels pivot downward till they are on the ground."

Brilliant idea! I wish I could have shown the other photos you sent in that described visually how the wheels pivot up and down to change the 'wheel drive' of this cool creation. Nice use of axels and gears as wheels! Perfect change of form.

by Milo, age 3, Ontario, Canada.

Milo wanted to take his original bird house on wheels (from last weeks challenge) and change it into: Airplane/Boat/Car for Birds "It has an olden days roof."

This is wonderful! I love the transformation this took from last weeks bird house to this 3 in 1 vehicle made especially for birds. Nice subtle changes creating a totally new design.

Quest #17 - Metamorphosis

Can you show Metamorphosis in action with Lego?

Transform your design into another in as many or as few stages as you want.

An idea to start your creative process might be to make two objects; the first stage, and the last stage of metamorphosis. Then design an object that has elements of both in it, to show the in-between stage.

This can represent an actual living thing, or it can be a totally invented entity.

Here you can see what other kids around the world created for this challenge.

Bird House Photos

by Angus, age 6, Saskatchewan, Canada.

This is a true Angus design, complete with your lovely patterning of colours. How fantastic that you installed the house in an actual tree! I see the large platform made it stable on the branches and can also double as a nice landing area for the birds. Brilliant that you used a bird on the perch of the house, it looks so real!

by Lyn, age 8, Saskatchewan, Canada.

Fantastic two story bird house with two entrance ways and perches. This architecture is beautifully designed with lovely embellishments like the flag and all the flowers. Perfectly photographed on a large tree with the forest in the background.

by Faenin, age 5, Ontario, Canada.

"Zeminita zop is a small bird lives in Australia makes a huh-huh-huh noise.When it goes in it takes it’s feathers off. Lots of other creatures store food in this house so that’s good for the bird – lots of fruit. It’s on top of a willow tree in a grasslands habitat. When you push the yellow button and it turns into a very small house. If you push the red button it goes super big and a lot of birds and fruit can fit in. The house can fly – so it can visit lots of other lands and to lay eggs on cactuses, the bird house has eyes so it can see where it’s going.

What an amazing morphing and moving bird house. It even looks like a bird with outstretched wings. Very symmetrical with a nice little alcove for a bird and all that food! I love that it was photographed outside where the birds can use it! Your story about this creation makes it so interesting!

by Isaac, age 5, Saskatchewan, Canada.

"There is little tweety bird (in birdhouse), and big tweety bird (out front of birdhouse). the birdhouse is named 'tweety tweety home'. where the tweeties live is in the middle of the ocean on an island named 'tornado', so they need to be careful of the tornadoes. they also have to be careful of the sharks that live around the island, so when they go water skiing they have to be careful of the sharks. as you can see we took the picture on the grassy island. they also have to be careful of the local octopuses."

Great home for the tweety tweety birds! I love how big the house is sitting on top of the skinny stem that holds it up. Wonderful that you show a bird in the house and one outside as well. I especially like that you photographed it outside, in it's natural habitat. Great story about your design!

by Brendon, age 9, Lockport, Illinios, USA

"Birdhouse. It has a compartment for the parent birds and the baby birds."

Great two room birdhouse! Very clean, straightforward design. I like the use of all the neutral tones in your building. Perfect for camouflage in rocky areas.

by Reece, age 8, Nova Scotia, Canada.

"Here is my bird house. It is open on the front to receive sun. The mama bird is away right now, but she has a few eggs in the nest! There is a light above the bird house so that she will have light when she returns."

This design reminds me so much of a tree house. I love the ladder, flags and light! You've created a very nice cosy nesting place. Perfect that you've thought about the open concept, so your birds will have the suns warmth. Wonderful addition of the tree branches with leaves.

by Luke, age 6, Woodridge Illinois, USA

"This is a movable birdhouse. See the stuff on the platform. It is food for the birds. See on top of the tree, there is a bird there."

Why not a moveable birdhouse! Great idea. Complete with a tree for landing and security. A platform full of food, I'm sure this birdhouse/feeder is always occupied.

by Matthew, age 12, Lincoln Park, Michigan, USA.

"My creation is a Killdeer nest with four eggs in it and I built a Killdeer about to land."

What a fantastic nesting ground you've created! Your Killdeer is so great! I love that you used Bionicle pieces for wings! His beak is made with the perfect little Lego piece and the way you created the legs makes it looks as if it is landing. Lovely bits of foliage here and there!

by Adrienne, age 12, South Western Ontario, Canada

"Any bird that fits could go in it. She added a white hook on the top (might be hard to see in the photo), a black chimney, a little porch with a railing."

This is a beautiful, classic bird house design. I love that you added elements that are non functional, like the chimney and railing. I think it adds a lot to the overall composition. I bet if you hung it, a bird would move in.

by Casey, age 8, Selah, Washington, USA

"Bird house; Bird Habitat. Lovely little bird house along with flowers, bird bath, and lunch (small stack of pink Lego's is a worm)."

Great little bird house complete with tiny stairs for easy access. I love the tall flowers and pink worm. This looks like it would make some bird very happy.

by Milo, age 3, Ontario, Canada.

"Milo's Birdhouse on Wheels. Here are some of the things Milo wanted to highlight:
1. It has two doors. The red one is for entering and the blue one is for exiting.
2. It has a separate refrigerator car to keep the birds' seeds cold and fresh. (You'll note the refrigerator car is a refrigerator on a platform.)
3. It has fences to keep the birds safe and chairs to sit on.
4. It has a suitcase so the birds can travel.
5. It has a pair of binoculars so the birds can watch other birds."

Wonderfully detailed bird house! I love all the little additions, especially the suitcase for traveling and the binoculars to watch other birds. Way to go Milo!

Quest #16 - Bird House

This weeks challenge is to design a bird house.

Spring is in full force and the birds are hard at work building their nests and making homes for their families.

You can create a bird house that you have seen before and are inspired by, or you can invent your own.

How about constructing a bird house that you would want to live in if you were a bird!

Think about what kind of bird lives in this house and the sounds that it makes, and even where in the world this bird lives.

Here are the cool bird house designs that other kids around the world made for this challenge.

Kinetic Photos

by Finn, age 12, Galloway, Scotland UK

"I made a hand powered 'windmill'. When you turn the crank on the back, the gears inside turn the 'sails'."

Wonderful Windmill. I wish I could have shown the other photo you sent in with the roof removed showing all the inner gears that the hand crank moves. Smart kinetic design!

by Phelan, age 8, Galloway, Scotland UK.

"I made a two wheel car. When one wheel is turned, the rubber band turns the other wheel."

Great symmetrical composition. Very cool that the motion of one object makes the other move as well!

by Matthew, age 12, Lincoln Park, Michigan, USA.

"My creation is a well guarded treasure safe with nothing in it right now. It has Spider-man in guard right now and he has already caught a criminal trying to steal treasure though there's none in there right now. The criminal is caught in a lava rock trap with his sniper."

Nice elaborate scene you've created here with a lot of great looking weapons!

by Jeff (aka: Fox), age 10, Wyoming, USA.

Great, strong composition! This looks like it would have smooth, steady movement. The 4 blades make it look like a traditional Dutch design.

by Lee, age 13, Wyoming, USA.

Very nice 3 bladed wind turbine! This looks like it would work well in high winds.

by Luke, age 6, Woodridge, Illinois, USA.

"You can see the windmill. It spins and creates energy. The windmill provides energy for the city."

Fantastic Lego city you have here! The wind turbine towers over the sprawling city and really looks like it would generate a lot of energy with it's movement.

by Reece, age 8, Nova Scotia, Canada.

"He created this on his own and it really moves!" says his mom.

"This is a rover that move backwards or forwards depending upon which way you move the switch".

wonderful creation! I love all the exposed axels and gears. Great use of a battery powered engine to create actual motion.

by Casey, age 8, Selah, Washington, USA.

"My brother is kinetic! I always have to chase him."

(Casey over heard our family doctor describing Will as the most "kinetic" child he has ever seen.)

This is so great. I love the story and you brought it to life here with Lego. I really do see a lot of motion.

by Ethan, age 8, Saskatchewan, Canada.

“The moveable parts include the satellite, which can rotate; the nose of the ship, the small wings near the middle, and the tail fin, which can tilt up and down; and a small blue gun which moves from side to side.”

Lots of wonderful moving parts on this model. It has a very balanced design with many interesting features.

Bridger, age 7, St. Paul, Minnesota, USA.

"This is a pair of spinning wheels powered by a six-battery engine. It uses gears to mesh the spinner's axle with the wheels' axle. The black thing that looks like a ribbon is the wire that gets the power from the motor to the spinning axle."

Great incorporation of the battery engine with the wheels. Nice use of gears, this is a fantastic kinetic design.

by Tal, age 11, Southern California, USA

"It's a dark and windy night in the desert. There's just been a power outage, but for Mr. Chase (seen in picture) it's All Good -- because he has an electricity generating windmill (seen on top of house)! This gives him enough power to turn on the lights (seen in house). Oh, and just so you know: The windmill is actually generating electricity."
(I used a Green Science Windmill Generator Kit in combination with Legos)

Wicked creation! I cannot believe you've created windmill power and generated electricity to power a light! I see the windmill blades spinning so fast they look like a blur in the photo. Super kinetic!

by Ben, age 7, West Midlands, England.

"This is my moveable house. It has 13 moving parts, including 4 wheels to roll along, a drill on the front to tunnel through mountains, a hinged roof and quite a few propellers to move it along and steer it. It has a total of 13 moving parts and a yellow escape capsule on the roof with its own propeller."

This reminds me so much of Howl's Moving Castle. So many interesting bits of moving parts on a large moving house! Awesome.

by Hetty, age 9, West Midlands, England.

"This is my windmill. It has got 4 sails which turn in the wind. I put a door at the bottom for the miller to get in and created a pretty striped pattern."

What a lovely windmill. The door is a great addition, showing that people are involved with this structure.

by Lennon, age 10, Ontario, Canada.

"The Bionicle Gali with move-able arms and head and fast running legs, as shown."

The photo has really complimented this creation! I see so much amazing, fast movement.

by Faenin, age 5, Ontario, Canada.

"Harvee-Har a flying-type Pokemon. With move-able wings and head."

A flying creature is a wonderful kinetic creation. I love his name very much.

by Islove, age 3, Ontario, Canada.

"Superamatic is a colour-type Pokemon with flying wings who can move."

Wings are super kinetic in that they produce lift, or flight into the air. Nice creation!

by Isaac, age 5, Saskatchewan, Canada.

"Isaac designed many things for the kinetic challenge. The large wheeled thing is a rolling house, then there are many miscellaneous vehicles and spaceships. I kept telling him that he needed to make a lego of himself because he is the most kinetic thing i know."

Great collection of animated objects! The large moving house is fascinating. I think you're dad is right, a little Lego you would have been super cool!

Thanks to my friend Tim, I will leave you with this 3 minute video of 1500 hours of moving Lego bricks!

Quest #15 - Kinetic

Kinetic means motion.

What I am looking for is a creation that has one or more moving parts.

It can move by a person manipulating it (a hand crank for example)

by wind (like a windmill)

by water (like a watermill)

In a delicate balance like a mobile

These are just a few ideas, there are many other ways an object can be kinetic.

How can you create something that can move or has moving parts?

Here are all the design solutions other kids from around the world built in response to this challenge.

Ancient Monument Photos

by Matthew, age 12, Lincoln Park, Michigan, USA.

"My creation is from Rome. It's a fountain that may seem very simple to build but it's not when you only have a few of some of the pieces."

This ancient fountain structure does make me think of Rome. I love the pieces you chose to use. This is very simple yet elegant in its design. A perfect replica! Awesome Ancient Monument Matthew!

by Sophie age 5, and Simon age 7, Saskatchewan, Canada.

"This is Stonehenge inside of Stonehenge. They built the larger one out of bricks after reading about it and thought that putting the smaller Lego one inside would be funny."

I love this Stonehenge piece. The bricks give it a nice scale comparison. I think what I like the most are the shadows. Even the tiny Lego Stonehenge casts a small shadow. This is a very straightforward design, with no interlocking pieces. Very cool Ancient Monument Simon and Sophie!

by Isaac, age 5, Saskatchewan, Canada.

"This is Isaac's ancient pyramid, with lots of ancient stuff inside. On your left, there is an ancient tower that was built 100 years ago. In front there's a horse-drawn carriage. On the roof of the pyramid is a rolling person.
Can you see the #8-brick piece that has four holes beside the horse (hint: it's part of the pyramid)?"

Wonderful Ancient Pyramid Isaac! Great that you made three different objects here to create one scene. I am very curious what's inside the Pyramid! The horse-drawn carriage is a nice addition making this little scene really come to life! I can spot the Lego brick with four holes in it. I wonder if it's a peep hole or ventilation holes? Nice Ancient Monument Isaac!

by Ben age 7 and Hetty age 9, West Midlands, England.

"These are the pyramids at Giza. They were built by the Pharaohs to be used as tombs. The dead Pharaoh was mummified and then entombed with everything he would need in the afterlife, including bees and a hive in one pyramid!"

Wonderful Pyramids of Giza! These Egyptian structures took 20 years to build and were made up of 2.3 million limestones. Your copies are nicely constructed. I am so intrigued by your description that they used to have bees and hives in the pyramids. How very interesting. Wonderful model of an Ancient Monument you've created Ben and Hetty!

by Reece, age 8, Nova Scotia, Canada.

"This scene depicts the Egyptian Sphinx. The tourists are flocking to see the ancient structure, and the Police and Security Guard are there to provide protection."

Great interpretation of an Egyptian Sphinx! I love this little scene. All the security, fences and walkie-talkies. This is very serious business guarding these Ancient Monuments. In fact, it's not far from the real thing. They really do protect these ancient treasures. I love the guy behind the fence looking through binoculars! Very nicely constructed Reece!

by Lyn, age 8, Saskachewan, Canada.

"This is my Egyptian pyramid garden. I got the idea from pictures dad showed us of the pyramids in Egypt and the Hanging Gardens of Babylon."

Awesome Lyn! I love the Hanging Gardens of Babylon! You've made some beautiful flowers and plants growing off of all the different levels. This is a wonderful space. I like the mash-up of the Pyramids of Giza and the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. These inspirations have created a lovely Ancient Monument scene.

by Angus, age 6, Saskatchewan, Canada.

"I call this the ancient pyramid mountains."

I love all the different kinds of Pyramids you have here. There is some very interesting platforms with wonderful, symmetrical designs between all the structures. They are almost flag-like in their colour patterns. Makes me think that each Pyramid is found on a different location in the world. The curious window pieces seems almost like viewing areas? Nice Ancient Monument design Angus!

by Patrick, age 13, Lockport, Illinois, USA.

"The Great Pyramid."

Patrick and his siblings Brendon and Ryan (see below) goggled 'Ancient Monuments' to get an idea of what to build.

Wonderful creation of The Great Pyramid. I love that you were able to decorate your pyramid with pieces embellished with Egyptian symbols and pictures. Very nice doorway leading to the entrance of the pyramid. This is very grand in design. Way to go Patrick!

Brendon. age 9, Lockport, Illinois, USA

"The Great Wall of China."

Brendan said this is a small wall because he had run out of time to build it. I think your Great Wall of China is fantastic. Imagine how much Lego you would need to create a long section of it! I like that you used mostly greys to make it look more like the rock and earth that was really used. Nice interpretation of your inspiration!

by Ryan, age 11, Lockport, Illinois, USA

"A Latin American Inca Statue."

Great Inca Statue. I love all the details using snakes and bats and foliage. Very interesting, symmetrical, interpretive design. Wonderful Ancient Monument Ryan!

by Keira, age 3, Saskatchewan Canada.

"This is the gate from the great wall around the city of Uruk built by Gilgamesh; a king of ancient Mesopotamia."

What a fantastic gate! I feel like I could walk right through it. Thank you for introducing me to Gilgamesh the King sounds like a very interesting tale. Wonderful Ancient Monument Keira!

by Bridger, age 7, St. Paul, Minnesota, USA.

"This is my version of Fort Snelling in St. Paul. I used effects to make the photo black-and-white to make it look older.

Fort Snelling was a military fort built where the Minnesota and Mississippi Rivers come together. It was built between 1820 and 1824. You can still visit it today.

In my version, the small black plate in the center is a sundial, which is actually there at the real fort. There are two towers, one small one and one tall one. The tall one has a flag on top. There are buildings scattered throughout the fort."

I love how you manipulated the photo, it really does look older! This is a great introduction to Fort snelling for me and I'm sure others too. I like that you have details like the sundial that are actually at the real fort. Have you been there and did you make a lot of this from memory, or from pictures? The tall tower is great and all the scattered building though out make this look so much like a real fort.

Fantastic Ancient Monument Bridger!