The Museum of Science and Industry (MSI) in Chicago is housed in one of the few buildings remaining from the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition: what was then the Palace of Fine Arts. To commemorate the 125th anniversary of the World’s Fair, the Museum has mounted two displays commemorating the historic event.

Lego Ferris Wheel

Adam Reed Tucker installing his LEGO Ferris Wheel model. [Image from the Museum of Science and Industry.]

The original 264-foot Ferris Wheel left Jackson Park in the spring of 1894, when it was dismantled and moved to Lincoln Park. For the past few months, a 5-foot-tall replica has been spinning it’s the shadow of the original.

The MSI exhibition “Brick by Brick,” running from March 10, 2016, through April 1, 2018, has featured “spectacular LEGO®-built marvels of engineering.” Included in the exhibit of more than a dozen giant constructions by LEGO® Certified Professional (yes, that’s a thing) Adam Reed Tucker is a reproduction of George Washington Ferris’s original big wheel from the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition.

Approximately 8,600 Lego bricks make up the model Ferris Wheel, complete with wheel frame, spokes, support posts, 60 passenger cars, and an entry station. A sign on the display case indicates that Tucker required 30 hours to design the model and spent 85 hours building it. A video showing the installation of the display at the MSI can be seen here. The website eurobricks.com has posted photos showing some of the spectacular details of Tucker’s LEGO Ferris Wheel.

Images of America’s Greatest Fair

On the north wall of the museum’s second level main lobby is a new photographic display celebrating the 125th anniversary of the World’s Fair. Most of the photographs show iconic images of the Fair, such as the Administration Building, Statue of the Republic, Ferris Wheel, and (of course) the Palace of Fine Arts. The wall display is topped by the bold title “FROM AMERICA’S GREATEST FAIR … 125th ANNIVERSARY.”

The museum has other smaller exhibits (and one giant one) related the 1893 World’s Fair on display. Let’s hope that there will be more coming to the MSI to celebrate the anniversary of the Columbian Exposition.