LEGO® as Public History

Abstract

From the pyramids of Egypt to the Titanic , LEGO® produces intricate representations of the past for its adult fans. Despite their popularity, these LEGO® sets have gone unnoticed by scholars of public history. This article proposes that LEGO® for adults is a distinct genre of public history. It analyses the 2025 set “The Evolution of STEM,” which “legofies” various moments in the history of STEM, including three historic scientists: George Washington Carver (1864–1943), Isaac Newton (1643–1727), and Marie Skłodowska-Curie (1867–1934). I argue that the legofication of the past offers a distinct form of participatory history infused with playfulness and nostalgia, in which consumers literally construct the past. However, legofying the past also entails simplifying complex historical realities into easily consumable and celebratory narratives. This produces a form of micro-commemoration in which consumers buy, build, and display LEGO® monuments in their homes, while also participating in the contestation and co-creation of historical meaning in public.