I’m going on a group tour this weekend to a place called Wissa Wassef Art Center and I’m pretty excited. Pottery and tapestry, two crafts so close to my heart, in one place?? I don’t think my husband truly appreciates how dangerous a trip like this might be to our bank account! I have several embroidered pieces already and the only reason I have as many as I do is because he wasn’t with me when I bought them (sshh!!)
Last weekend a friend of mine invited me along on a trip she had planned to go and see a Lego exhibit she’d heard about at the Egyptian Museum. Lego at the Museum? I joked that what were they going to do, build a pyramid out of Lego? The sphinx?
We first went into the main museum building, thinking that perhaps this would be a temporary display set up in a gallery somewhere. Much to my surprise, the museum was absolutely packed. The last time I visited, it was December 2003 when I was visiting Egypt as a tourist. I don’t know if it was because it was a weekday, it was raining, or because it was Ramadan, but the place was a whole lot calmer the last time I was there. Much more museum like. Yesterday it was more like Walmart two days before Christmas. (nightmare!) I had to pick my seven year old son up so that he could see some of King Tut’s treasure because the crowd was so thick that short people had no chance. When we didn’t see any Lego, we quickly made our way back to the entrance and the information desk.
Turns out that there is a new Children’s Museum around the backside of the main museum. At least I surmise it is new because it was empty – we had the whole place to ourselves. Such a treat after having escaped the crowd! And would you believe the first thing we saw as we walked in was a sphinx made out of Lego??
I didn’t have my camera with me but fortunately my friend was able to take a few shots with her Blackberry. It was truly amazing what they were able to do with Lego.
There was King Tut’s mask, mummies, seated statues, mosaic pictures – even a model of the workers building the pyramids all done in Lego! All these things were mixed in with other actual antiquities, plus there was a Lego play area so the children could construct their own exhibits. The children spent a happy hour there. The only thing that would have made it a happier place for the parents was a couch and a coffee bar 
I’m really glad that we found it when we did because I imagine that when word gets out, it’s going to be just as crowded at the main museum is – no place like that will remain undiscovered for long!
