Master Model Designers at LEGOLAND have recreated the historic scene depicting President-elect Barack Obama taking the Presidential oath of office on the steps of the Capitol in Miniland U.S.A. President-elect Obama and his family along with Vice President-elect Joseph Biden and his wife will be replicated as mini-figures in LEGO brick. Hundreds of LEGOLAND mini-figures have been “invited” to witness the inauguration. Who knows, Park guests might even spot some celebrities in the crowd!
For more than two hundred years America’s citizens have witnessed the Inauguration ceremonies of the President and Vice President of the United States.
LEGOLAND California has brought the 56th quadrennial Presidential Inauguration to the steps of the Miniland Capitol all guests to witness the swearing in of the first African-American President.
More than one-thousand mini-figures have been created out of thousands of LEGO bricks to be a part of the festivities. Mini-figures include President-elect Obama and his family, Vice President-elect Joseph Biden and Jill Biden, President George Bush and First Lady Laura Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney and Lynn Cheney along with former President George Bush Sr. and Barbara Bush. Other mini-figures depicting ceremony participants include: Senator Dianne Feinstein, Dr. Rick Warren, Aretha Franklin, John Williams and performers Itzhak Perlman, Yo-Yo-Ma, Gabriela Montero, Anthony McGill, the Unites States Marine Band, the San Francisco Boys Chorus and the San Francisco Girls Chorus. Park guests can also find Oprah Winfrey in the crowd witnessing this momentous event as well as read fun facts about past inaugurations such as "who gave the shortest and longest inauguration address" and "which inauguration was the first to be televised." The historic scene is on display through September 7, 2009*.
U.S. CAPITOL VS. MINILAND U.S.A CAPITOL FUN FACTS
- The original Capitol building in Washington, D.C. was sandstone-covered brick; the rest is marble covered brick. The dome is made of more than eight-million pounds of painted cast iron.
- LEGOLAND California’s version of the Capitol in Miniland Washington D.C. is made out of 380,792 LEGO bricks!
- The real Capitol took about 200 years to build. The Capitol was built in six phases. The first phase on the original building began in 1793 and was finished in 1826. The last phase was completed in 1993.
- LEGOLAND California’s version of the Capitol in Miniland Washington D.C. took about 1,200 hours to build and was established when the family theme park opened in 1999.
- The real U.S. Capitol is 288 feet tall.
- The Capitol in Miniland U.S.A. is seven feet tall.
- Thousands of men and women built the Capitol in Washington D.C.
- Two Master Model Builders constructed the Capitol in Miniland Washington D.C.!
* Please visit www.LEGOLAND.com/hours for a complete listing of Park hours.