Ancient ideas meet modern play with LEGO® at the Teece Museum

Photo caption: UC Teece Museum Bricks of Olympus LEGO builder Emily Fryer

Hosted by Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha | University of Canterbury (UC) Teece Museum of Classical Antiquities, Bricks of Olympus is designed to engage the curious as well as lovers of Classical Studies and LEGO.

The immersive LEGO experience, created by LEGO Masters New Zealand Season one winner Jake Roos and runner-up Emily Fryer, features an automated LEGO theatre retelling the epic journey of Odysseus, alongside displays that explore ancient forms of engineering.

The family-friendly exhibition brings together the Otāutahi Christchurch community through play, visual storytelling and ancient Greek mythology. 

“Using LEGO allows us to explore classical mythology while also engaging with science, physics and ancient engineering,” UC Teece Museum Curator Terri Elder says. 

“Visitors can explore how levers, pulleys, wheels, wedges and inclined planes work – ancient engineering principles brought to life through contemporary creativity. It’s a way of reaching a broad audience and showing how the humanities and sciences have always intersected,” Elder says.

UC Executive Dean of Arts Professor Kevin Watson says exhibitions like this reflect a broader convergence across humanities, arts and technology.

“What you see in an exhibition like this is the arts working alongside science and technology in very practical ways,” he says. “It helps students, as well as wider audiences, understand how different ways of thinking can sit alongside one another. These LEGO structures are not only really creative, but they’re also a nice demonstration of some of the principles behind these impressive feats of technology from the past.

“The holiday initiative at the Teece Museum reflects UC's commitment to engaging the public in the arts and humanities." 

The exhibition grand opening will be held in the Great Hall at Te Matatiki Toi Ora | The Arts Centre, with the ongoing exhibition on display at the Teece Museum. 

Visitors will be able to help build a collaborative mosaic out of LEGO and enter a children’s competition to win an exclusive show-set model of the goddess Athena, designed and created for Bricks of Olympus by Roos and Fryer. 

Also present at the opening event will be Maths Craft New Zealand co-creators Dr Jeanette McLeod and Dr Phil Wilson, Senior Lecturers at UC’s School of Mathematics and Statistics, who will host a range of hands-on maths craft activities.

• The exhibition opens Thursday 15 January 2026 at the UC Teece Museum of Classical Antiquities, 3 Hereford Street, Christchurch, and runs until 19 April 2026.