St. Alexius Medical Center, LEGOLAND Discovery Center set Guinness World Record

Children at St. Alexius Medical Center in Hoffman Estates, Ill. and LEGOLAND Discovery Center Chicago joined children from around the world to set a new Guinness World Record for the largest toy building lesson ever held.

The lesson, more affectionately called a Model Builder Workshop, took place at St. Alexius Medical Center at 6 a.m. on Thursday, Nov. 15, Guinness World Record Day. LEGOLAND Discovery Center Chicago's Master Model Builder Andrew Johnson led the workshop, and each of the children participating learned how to build their very own model of a Christmas train out of LEGO brick.

The event was one of 10 LEGO building workshops, which took place globally on the same day at the exact same time. Also participating in the record attempt were LEGOLAND Discovery Centers in Atlanta; Dallas/Fort Worth; Kansas City, Kan.; Tokyo; Berlin; Duisburg, Germany; and Manchester, England; as well as the LEGOLAND theme park in Windsor, England.

In total, 287 children across the world simultaneously built a LEGO holiday train.

“Not only is it a fun way for kids to celebrate creativity and imagination, but they're also learning about teamwork – coming together as a group and with children from across the globe – to accomplish a single goal,” said Johnson. “And that's pretty remarkable.”

LEGOLAND Discovery Center Chicago partnered with St. Alexius Medical Center for the record attempt in support of the Center's ongoing efforts to ensure all children have the opportunity to enjoy the fun and learning of LEGO play. St. Alexius Medical Center has long partnered with community groups, including School District 54, Harper College, Schaumburg Township, Park Districts and others to develop programs that help bring a positive change in the community through kid friendly, healthy activities.