Busking for Denmark by
ANN-MARIE CAHILL
What happens when you let your child choose the vacation? We have a travel tradition in our family. When our kids finish elementary school, they get to travel anywhere in the world with one parent. This does come with a stipulation: they must fund their share of the travel.
play games, build robots, or show scientific concepts, especially in mechanical engineering. So, when we brought up our ‘travel tradition’ to him, we weren’t surprised that he chose Denmark. It’s a big trip with a big budget, yet somehow we knew he could do it.
For Noah, earning money for the trip was an opportunity for his two Now, I’ll be honest. There is no great loves to come together. At way to predict where the kids will the age of nine, he took his clarinet choose to go; it can be a bit wild and and book of Christmas carols down random. But no matter what they to the local train station. He set up come up with, we know it is going to a LEGO bucket to collect money, be filled with adventure, and buoyed homemade signs sharing his story, by their exuberance and youth. For and started to play. our son, Noah, the decision was easy. He wanted to play in Denmark, the Of course, people would stop and home of LEGO®. chat. Most were curious as to why
How It Started Noah has a passion for both artistry and engineering. He started playing the clarinet at seven years old, but LEGO was his first love. To this day, he is always learning new ways to use the ingenious bricks: to tell stories,
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ENSEMBLE ULTIMATE FAMILY VAC ATIONS I SUMMER 2022
he wanted to go to Denmark. A few even shared their own Denmark travel tips. While the goal was always to visit the LEGO House, the list soon grew to include Tivoli Gardens, the Okolariet Science Centre, and the Jelling Mounds with ancient Viking history.
The more people he met, the more he learned about Denmark—he always came home with a smile and a story to share. Within three years, Noah had saved $6,500. When the day for departure finally arrived, he turned to me with the biggest smile and said simply, “Mum, let’s play in Denmark.”
Let’s Go to LEGO House Noah’s planning ensured our plane flew almost directly to Billund, and our LEGO House tickets were for the very next day! From the minute we walked in, his eyes were bright and wide open. Inside, there are displays, activities, and inspiration points to encourage fans to try new and different things. From one room to the next, Noah built and learned from everything that was on offer. In one section, we made a ridiculous and hilarious “stop-motion” movie with Santa losing his hat. In another, we battled with LEGO robots around a flower garden, laughing at each other’s awful driving skills. We
