Yuki Lei
The Macau Grand Prix Museum (MGPM) in Zape has received a monthly average of 11,000 visitors so far this year, about 90 percent of them tourists, Macau Government Tourism Office (MGTO) Director Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes said yesterday, adding: “The Macau Grand Prix Museum has gradually become a must-visit tourist spot in Macau”.
The Macau Grand Prix Museum is co-operating with LEGO HK for the first time to present a special exhibition at the museum, inviting LEGO Certified Professional Andy Hung Chi Kin to design and assemble a LEGO model of a Formula 3 racing car at the scale of 1:1 as a new regular exhibit at the museum in celebration of the 25th anniversary of Macau’s return to the motherland on December 20.
The special exhibition opened yesterday morning at the Macau Grand Prix Museum, with Senna Fernandes and MGTO Deputy Director Ricky Hoi Io Meng, as well as Hung officiating at the ceremony.
The LEGO 1:1 Formula 3 racing car model, which is composed of over 300,000 LEGO bricks, took about seven weeks to complete. The special exhibition will run until August 31, covering the Labour Day (aka May Day) holiday and summer vacation.
The LEGO car is mainly green – characterising Macau, decorated with lotus pattern, a symbol of the city, and the number of 25, representing the 25th anniversary of Macau’s return to the motherland, according to a MGTO statement, which noted that during the exhibition, visitors are also welcome to build their own racing car models out of LEGO bricks at the exhibition zone and test their creations on a steep platform on site.
Senna Fernandes made the remarks while speaking to reporters after the ceremony.
The Macau Grand Prix Museum reopened in 2021 with a brand-new look, featuring different types of exhibits and interactive items such as a Formula 3 simulator, motorcycle racing simulator and the “VR 360° race replay” exhibit zone, as well as wax figures of eight renowned racers – John Macdonald, Ron Haslam, Ayrton Senna da Silva, Sebastian Vettel, Michael Rutter, Lewis Hamilton, Rob Huff, and Edoardo Mortara – by Madame Tussauds Hong Kong, the tourism chief highlighted in her speech, adding that “the debut of the LEGO 1:1 Formula 3 race car model contributes further to dissemination of the motorsport culture and ‘tourism + sport’ integration”.
MGTO had joined hands with LEGO HK in 2015 to present their first collaborative exhibition, during which LEGO models of Macau’s World Heritage, events and landmarks built by Hung were displayed at the Ritz Building in Largo do Senado (“Senate Square”) and at the Macau Science Centre (MSC) in Nape, said Senna Fernandes, pointing out that “that exhibition enjoyed much popularity”.
A LEGO model of Formula 3 racing car at the scale of 1:1 by LEGO Certified Professional Andy Hung Chi Kin has been on display as a regular exhibit at the Macau Grand Prix Museum since yesterday. – Photos: Yuki Lei
Macau Government Tourism Office (MGTO) Director Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes delivers a speech during yesterday’s opening ceremony of the “Macau Grand Prix Museum x LEGO® Speed Racing” special exhibition in Zape.
