Telling the history of the Fraser Valley with LEGO

Artists have spent hundreds of hours creating a display out of LEGO that illustrates the history and future of the Fraser Valley.

Their work is being featured in a new exhibit at the Surrey Museum: LEGO - A Fraser Valley Odyssey.

The journey begins with receding ice fields in Chilliwack and ends in a futuristic version of Surrey, complete with space ships.

"The display is generally scaled toward the mini figure, which is the little person you see in the movies and videos," said curator Greg Yellenik.

"A lot of other LEGO shows have full, real scale dinosaurs and things like that that are 30 or 40 feet high. This is all sort of scaled to the mini figure life with millions of vignettes all built into one area."

The exhibit include a replica of Fort Langley, a moving SkyTrain that races around modern-day Surrey and do-it yourself area where children can build their own projects.

For the young and young at heart

A team of LEGO master builders spent an estimated 1,000 hours creating the displays at home and setting them up at the museum.

"My LEGO room spills into the living room and dining room and as many surface spaces can be converted into LEGO building spaces have been converted as such," said master builder David Gagnon.

"I still haven't cleaned it all up, but that's on my to-do list.

Gagnon is especially proud of a canoe he built that looks just like something you would see on Coast Salish First Nation lands in the 1400s.

The builders took a few artistic liberties, as well.

For example, there are a few Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles living in the sewer below Surrey Memorial Hospital.

The exhibit runs until mid-September and admission is free.