The machine cranks up, and 450° F of fiery heat turns bright plastic into mush. Then the machine applies 150 tons of pressure to the plastic. Ten seconds later, out comes a Lego, one of those molded-plastic building blocks you can combine to build almost anything, from a spaceship to a dragon.
Watching Legos being made is just one of the attractions at Legoland California, a new theme park that opened March 20 in Carlsbad, California. Legoland has rides and shows, but what makes it special is its amazing Lego constructions.
"Master Lego builders" used 2 million blocks to create a 34-foot-long red dinosaur that towers above the Legoland lake. More than 1 million blocks form the giant face of Albert Einstein in the park's Imagination Zone. And more than 20 million were used to create incredibly detailed mini-versions of such great American cities as New Orleans, Washington, D.C., and New York City.
The California park is the first Legoland in the U.S. The original Legoland opened in 1968 in Denmark. Danish toymaker Ole Kirk Christiansen invented the bright bricks 50 years ago. Since then, more than 189 billion have been made. That's almost 30 Lego pieces for every person on the planet!
Nearly all of the 40 attractions at Legoland California look like giant Legos. The rides don't move unless kids make them work. Where else can you drive a Lego boat or an electric Lego car and get your own Lego license? In a chairlift ride, kids can pull their family and friends 30 feet up in the air, then let them free-fall back down? The machine cranks up, and 450° F of fiery heat turns bright plastic into mush. Then the machine applies 150 tons of pressure to the plastic. Ten seconds later, out comes a Lego, one of those molded-plastic building blocks you can combine to build almost anything, from a spaceship to a dragon.
Watching Legos being made is just one of the attractions at Legoland California, a new theme park that opened March 20 in Carlsbad, California. Legoland has rides and shows, but what makes it special is its amazing Lego constructions.
"Master Lego builders" used 2 million blocks to create a 34-foot-long red dinosaur that towers above the Legoland lake. More than 1 million blocks form the giant face of Albert Einstein in the park's Imagination Zone. And more than 20 million were used to create incredibly detailed mini-versions of such great American cities as New Orleans, Washington, D.C., and New York City.
The California park is the first Legoland in the U.S. The original Legoland opened in 1968 in Denmark. Danish toymaker Ole Kirk Christiansen invented the bright bricks 50 years ago. Since then, more than 189 billion have been made. That's almost 30 Lego pieces for every person on the planet!
Nearly all of the 40 attractions at Legoland California look like giant Legos. The rides don't move unless kids make them work. Where else can you drive a Lego boat or an electric Lego car and get your own Lego license? In a chairlift ride, kids can pull their family and friends 30 feet up in the air, then let them free-fall back down?
"Most parks are for everybody," says Legoland spokeswoman Jonna Rae Bartges. "This whole park is just for kids."
The machine cranks up, and 450° F of fiery heat turns bright plastic into mush. Then the machine applies 150 tons of pressure to the plastic. Ten seconds later, out comes a Lego, one of those molded-plastic building blocks you can combine to build almost anything, from a spaceship to a dragon.
Watching Legos being made is just one of the attractions at Legoland California, a new theme park that opened March 20 in Carlsbad, California. Legoland has rides and shows, but what makes it special is its amazing Lego constructions.
"Master Lego builders" used 2 million blocks to create a 34-foot-long red dinosaur that towers above the Legoland lake. More than 1 million blocks form the giant face of Albert Einstein in the park's Imagination Zone. And more than 20 million were used to create incredibly detailed mini-versions of such great American cities as New Orleans, Washington, D.C., and New York City.
The California park is the first Legoland in the U.S. The original Legoland opened in 1968 in Denmark. Danish toymaker Ole Kirk Christiansen invented the bright bricks 50 years ago. Since then, more than 189 billion have been made. That's almost 30 Lego pieces for every person on the planet!
Nearly all of the 40 attractions at Legoland California look like giant Legos. The rides don't move unless kids make them work. Where else can you drive a Lego boat or an electric Lego car and get your own Lego license? In a chairlift ride, kids can pull their family and friends 30 feet up in the air, then let them free-fall back down?
"Most parks are for everybody," says Legoland spokeswoman Jonna Rae Bartges. "This whole park is just for kids."
"Most parks are for everybody," says Legoland spokeswoman Jonna Rae Bartges. "This whole park is just for kids."