A SNAPPY new exhibit will turn heads at a showcase which aims to lay building blocks for scientific success.

A giant crocodile head is one of the fabulous features at a new exhibition with Lego creations as their centrepiece.

The Lego Science Exhibition has been unveiled at Rheged, near Penrith, and supporters are sure it will be a summer success.

The busy attraction has joined forces with Lego artist Warren Elsmore to create the display, which aims to shine a light on space, sound, forces, electricity, biology and engineering - as well as giving visitors of all ages the chance to learn and play.

An earthquake simulator provides a visual display of how a building will react, giving children a chance to build a Lego house and see if comes tumbling down.

John Stokes, Rheged’s art director, has been working closely with Warren Elsmore to get the exhibition just right.

He said: “ The brick science laboratory is a place where children will be able to play with Lego and learn about science at the same time.

“We don’t claim to be a fully educational experience, we’ve got schools for that, but this is instead a way of familiarising children with ideas they might not learn at school.

“This exhibition is all about fun.

“I think a lot of other museums will focus on learning and trying to make it fun.

“We tend to go the other way find something fun and try and make it educational.

After playing with Lego as a child John is delighted he has had the chance to build and be part of this display.

“It is great. It’s a really fun exhibition - and there is so much to do,” he added.

“In the past, a lot of our exhibitions have focused on looking at models, but we didn’t want to repeat that this time, so we put the focus on things to do.”

There are six distinct zones all with different activities the children can do.

All of these enable them to learn a little bit about different areas of science.

Rocket ships and planets will zoom round the imagination in the space zone, where visitors can learn about planets and build your own.

The sound will focus on music and how fast it moves with some good old fashioned cups on a string to talk to one another.

Engineering will make the ground shake with a chance to build structures and test their limits in a simulated earthquake.

John said: “What we’re teaching the children with the earthquake machine is how to build a strong and stable structure and have fun.

“I think it’s really important we make our exhibitions fun.

“In the summer holidays it’s about bringing in a wide audience; something for families to do, especially when the weather is poor.

“Families don’t just want to do something that is all sugar-coated. It’s nice to think you can have fun and learn something.”

Like other attractions across north and west Cumbria, Rheged is hoping for a bumper summer season. The exhibition has opened and will run until September 1.