'As a mum of 2, I can confirm: this exhibition is all my kids want to talk about.'

Thanks to our brand partner, Museums Victoria

There's nothing quite like winter in Melbourne when you have kids. Getting out of the house at least once a day is mandatory when screens are the constant temptation but playgrounds are windblown and frigid, playdates not always possible and even the zoo has you shivering.

With two kids aged nine and six, it's also sometimes tricky to find an experience that's going to appeal to both of them. My nine-year-old is reaching her discreetly jaded "too cool for most things" phase, while my six-year-old is still extremely enthusiastic, slightly rambunctious and loves a hands-on activity.

So when LEGO® Star Wars: The Exhibition opened at Melbourne Museum, I knew I was onto a winner.

Pulling up to the museum (located in the beautifully verdant Carlton Gardens), we parked in the underground car park. However, I was reminded instantly that we really needn't have driven: the trams rattled straight past us on Nicholson Street and it's also a short walk from Parliament Station if we'd wanted to take the train.

Whoops, sorry for forgetting about you, extremely reliable Melbourne public transport.

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It's such a gorgeous location there on the northern fringe of the CBD and we could have happily spent even more time playing in the forecourt and admiring the Royal Exhibition Building, but Mr Six was getting desperate to see some LEGO^® by this stage so we headed into the museum.

The lovely museum staff scanned our tickets and we waited for only a few minutes outside what looked like steel hangar doors before they dramatically whooshed open to reveal a sort of "holding bay" for us all. This area was replete with a 360-degree lighting and visual show and we were encouraged to sit down so everyone could see the biggest screen, located in front of us. Next thing, we were utterly starstruck by a video welcome from Brickman himself.

Brickman needs no introduction, but for those of you who have been living in a LEGO^® cave somewhere in far-flung Tatooine, Brickman is Ryan McNaught. Raised in Shepparton, McNaught got his first LEGO^® set from his grandmother at age three and is now the only LEGO® Certified Professional in the southern hemisphere (a job my son is thrilled to know exists). Ryan is also the judge on LEGO Masters Australia and the mastermind behind the creative execution of the exhibition.

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In the welcome video, Brickman explained that he and his highly skilled team had created the exhibition out of more than eight million LEGO^® bricks over a period of 25,000 hours — a feat so extraordinary that it made me feel ashamed of my lack of LEGO^® patience when it comes to finding one of the tiny black brickies to attach to the little claw thingy.

Brickman also told us about the interactive elements of the exhibition, encouraging us to keep an eye out for QR codes we could scan to see behind-the-scenes time-lapse footage of the builds themselves. Safe to say Brickman really pumped us up for this Melbourne-only event.

As we entered the gallery floor, I was struck by the craftsmanship of the sculptures.

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Melbourne Museum is clever, too, because they knew kids would not be content to just look at the sculptures: there were multiple "build" areas dotted around the exhibition where kids (and big kids — guilty) could get into the fun of making. You could design your own droid and pop the finished product into the "Droid Void"; follow a pattern to contribute a tile to the jumbo mosaic; or build your own lightsaber and display it on the wall.

My kids were so keen to try everything that we were in the exhibition for hours: my daughter with the excited flurry of someone worried her time would be cut short and my son with the maddening perfectionism of a true Brickman Padawan. Regardless of their differing styles, both kids had an absolute ball.

Of course we had to conclude our day with a visit to the Star Wars Galactic Café: a diner-style eatery watched over by Stormtrooper sculptures and featuring a themed menu. We tried the Outer Rim Chicken Katsu which was crispy, hot and delicious with a yummy sweet-and-tangy salad, the Asteroid Fields — crunchy and chunky sweet potato fries served with sour cream and guacamole, and the Death Star by Chocolate, an adorable little dessert with layers of sponge and creamy chocolate mousse.

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Of course the kids needed a Chewie Cookie to round out their meal (a gingerbread version of Chewbacca himself) and I was so enraptured by the design that I caved immediately. I am a hopeless sucker for a theme.

After we'd finished up at the Star Wars Galactic Café we visited the main museum galleries — to foster my son's continuing obsession with dinosaurs. The admission was included in our exhibition entry, making for a jam packed day out.

All in all, Melbourne Museum's LEGO^® Star Wars: The Exhibition showed me the blueprint for a super fun family day out. It truly had something magical for everyone, regardless of their appreciation for the Star Wars franchise itself, and we all left with huge grins on our awestruck faces. Now, let me dig out those LEGO^® bricks.

Book your tickets to see Melbourne Museum's LEGO^® Star Wars: The Exhibition online.

Feature Image: Supplied.

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