Model of the HMS Beagle constructed by Luis Peña out of more than 2000 Lego pieces.
I received an e-mail from Luis Peña, a self-described Adult Fan of Lego (AFOL), regarding his goal to develop an official Lego set, Darwin & HMS Beagle. To further his goal, Dr. Peña built the model of the Beagle shown in the photograph, using standard Lego parts and custom decals.
Lego will consider "Darwin & HMS Beagle," provided that the project obtains 10,000 votes within the next 537 days; it currently has 7754 votes, counting mine yesterday. Voting is a bit of a pain, in that you have to register and answer a handful of questions, but it seemed to me to be well worth the effort.
Asked for more detail, Dr. Peña writes,
I am an ophthalmologist. I love the history of science, and one of my favorite books is The Voyage of the Beagle by Charles Darwin.
In the Lego Ideas website, fans of Lego can show their own creations or projects (there are more than 5,000 projects), the community can vote, and if a project reaches 10,000 supporters the project is reviewed by Lego. If the company approves it, then the project becomes a new Lego set. Any project has one year to reach the support, but if it reaches 5,000 supporters it gains an extension of another year.
My project includes a scale model of the HMS Beagle and three little dioramas with key moments of the trip (Patagonia, Andes Mountains, and Galápagos Islands). There are minifigures of Charles Darwin, Robert FitzRoy, and another six members of the crew. The ship is made with 2,024 Lego pieces, and the sails are made of bricks.
A scene aboard the Beagle (left), and Darwin and FitzRoy (right).
To reach 10,000 supporters is not easy, because there are many other projects in Lego Ideas. The HMS Beagle is doing well: it obtained more than 7,700 supporters in the first 6 months, and it has more than 500 days left to reach the required 10,000 supporters.
I think that people interested in science will enjoy such toy, an iconic ship in the history of science. This project is not only about a ship made of Lego bricks; it is a tribute to Darwin and a tool to teach science to children.
To vote, it is necessary to create an account in Lego Ideas; then you will receive an e-mail to confirm your account, and you are ready to vote using the blue button "support" and following the instructions. To vote is totally free and without any obligation to buy the set in the future.
12 Comments
Karen s · 14 August 2015
This is a cool idea. But shouldn't we have a lego model for the bacterial flagellum so we can teach the controversy?
Henry J · 14 August 2015
Yeah, that'll whip those evil-utionists!
Mike Elzinga · 14 August 2015
Karen s said:
This is a cool idea. But shouldn't we have a lego model for the bacterial flagellum so we can teach the controversy?
We would have to give those Lego pieces the charge-to-mass ratios of electrons and protons and fold in some quantum mechanical rules.
Otherwise the ID/creationists will do what they always have done in the past; conjure up a huge Lego example of a "cell city" with all sorts of mechanical transport systems and fancy stuff going on to illustrate how impossible it was for nature to assemble such a huge, organized city out of a tornado ripping through a box of Lego pieces.
Henry J · 14 August 2015
Surely they'd stop doing that the minute somebody says Lego piece != atom (or molecule)?
Golkarian · 14 August 2015
Mike Elzinga said:
Karen s said:
This is a cool idea. But shouldn't we have a lego model for the bacterial flagellum so we can teach the controversy?
We would have to give those Lego pieces the charge-to-mass ratios of electrons and protons and fold in some quantum mechanical rules.
Otherwise the ID/creationists will do what they always have done in the past; conjure up a huge Lego example of a "cell city" with all sorts of mechanical transport systems and fancy stuff going on to illustrate how impossible it was for nature to assemble such a huge, organized city out of a tornado ripping through a box of Lego pieces.
No, Harvard will make that Lego set and the creationists will change the color and sell it as their own.
https://me.yahoo.com/a/JxVN0eQFqtmgoY7wC1cZM44ET_iAanxHQmLgYgX_Zhn8#57cad · 14 August 2015
Just call it "Origin of the Nazis," and you'll have a few million guaranteed sales.
The ship is made with 2,024 Lego pieces, and the sails are made of bricks.
Even so, it's still more sea-worthy than Ken Ham's Ark
Sylvilagus · 15 August 2015
Karen s said:
The ship is made with 2,024 Lego pieces, and the sails are made of bricks.
Even so, it's still more sea-worthy than Ken Ham's Ark
You win! That cracked me up.
Leigh Stotland · 15 August 2015
I saw this a while back. I tried to vote but I was never sure my vote was counted. I'll try it again. As you say voting seemed cumbersome. I would love this Lego set. I'd probably buy two: one for me and one for school. The administrators at the school where I work are really pushing the learn-through-play concept; over the summer they bought lots of Lego sets. If we are going to let kids play with Legos during the school day, they might as well have a real educational tie-in.
I especially like the small vignettes. If Lego does market the large set, I hope that more samller sets are added as well.
I did ask some of the teachers at my school to vote -- this will remind me to ask them again.
David MacMillan · 15 August 2015
Karen s said:
This is a cool idea. But shouldn't we have a lego model for the bacterial flagellum so we can teach the controversy?
They tried to do a Lego model of the bacterial flagellum, but discovered it was too complex to be reduced to Legos.
Karen s said:
The ship is made with 2,024 Lego pieces, and the sails are made of bricks.
Even so, it's still more sea-worthy than Ken Ham's Ark
You win all the internets today.
Matt Young · 17 August 2015
Dr. Peña tells me that his project had an important jump in activity -- in the last 3 days, since the exposure on PT, it has received 150 votes, as opposed to an average of 15 votes per day in previous weeks. In addition, some people announced the project on Twitter. Good job, readers!
Karen s · 22 August 2015
Indeed, intelligent design is just the Legos theology of John's Gospel restated in the idiom of information theory.
12 Comments
Karen s · 14 August 2015
This is a cool idea. But shouldn't we have a lego model for the bacterial flagellum so we can teach the controversy?
Henry J · 14 August 2015
Yeah, that'll whip those evil-utionists!
Mike Elzinga · 14 August 2015
Henry J · 14 August 2015
Surely they'd stop doing that the minute somebody says Lego piece != atom (or molecule)?
Golkarian · 14 August 2015
https://me.yahoo.com/a/JxVN0eQFqtmgoY7wC1cZM44ET_iAanxHQmLgYgX_Zhn8#57cad · 14 August 2015
Just call it "Origin of the Nazis," and you'll have a few million guaranteed sales.
Glen Davidson
Karen s · 15 August 2015
Sylvilagus · 15 August 2015
Leigh Stotland · 15 August 2015
I saw this a while back. I tried to vote but I was never sure my vote was counted. I'll try it again. As you say voting seemed cumbersome. I would love this Lego set. I'd probably buy two: one for me and one for school. The administrators at the school where I work are really pushing the learn-through-play concept; over the summer they bought lots of Lego sets. If we are going to let kids play with Legos during the school day, they might as well have a real educational tie-in.
I especially like the small vignettes. If Lego does market the large set, I hope that more samller sets are added as well.
I did ask some of the teachers at my school to vote -- this will remind me to ask them again.
David MacMillan · 15 August 2015
Matt Young · 17 August 2015
Dr. Peña tells me that his project had an important jump in activity -- in the last 3 days, since the exposure on PT, it has received 150 votes, as opposed to an average of 15 votes per day in previous weeks. In addition, some people announced the project on Twitter. Good job, readers!
Karen s · 22 August 2015