This Adorable LEGO Alien (and Dog) Will Invade Your Kid's Heart

A miniature LEGO alien and its cosmic pet kicked ofif the toy company's minibuild building events in January 2015. It is one of several recent space-themed LEGO kits to be featured. (Image credit: Space.com/Tariq Malik)

If you are a parent of a little LEGO fanatic like me, chances are you've been to a LEGO store recently for a free monthly mini-build event, or a LEGO Club meeting. Recently, the brick-building toy company has hosted some space LEGO events that have delighted my 6-year-old daughter to the point I had to share: Case in point, this adorable LEGO alien and its trusty pet.

The green LEGO alien (because aren't aliens always green?) and space dog were the focus of LEGO's mini-build event in early January, as well as the monthly LEGO Club meeting. My daughter Z. says the best part of this 55-piece model is the alien's little yellow "hat" (actually a single, round yellow stud), though I have to admit I'm partial to the dog, myself. My daughter also loves that you can turn the alien's ears from down to up "so that it can pay attention." It's an open secret that I love all things space, and to be able to share even part of that with my daughter while she builds whatever she dreams up is a joy. Right now, LEGOs are her passion and the mini-build events are practically mandatory.

Small space-themed LEGO building kits seem to be on a roll. On Tuesday (Feb. 3), the February 2015 minibuild will be a small space shuttle. Last November, it was a super-cool red and white LEGO rocket.

And if you missed the January mini-build or Club events, don't fret. You can find directions and a parts guide to build your own LEGO alien here: http://cache.lego.com/bigdownloads/buildinginstructions/6114154.pdf

Email Tariq Malik at tmalik@space.com or follow him @tariqjmalik and Google+. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+.

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Tariq is the Editor-in-Chief of Space.com and joined the team in 2001, first as an intern and staff writer, and later as an editor. He covers human spaceflight, exploration and space science, as well as skywatching and entertainment. He became Space.com's Managing Editor in 2009 and Editor-in-Chief in 2019. Before joining Space.com, Tariq was a staff reporter for The Los Angeles Times covering education and city beats in La Habra, Fullerton and Huntington Beach. In October 2022, Tariq received the Harry Kolcum Award for excellence in space reporting from the National Space Club Florida Committee. He is also an Eagle Scout (yes, he has the Space Exploration merit badge) and went to Space Camp four times as a kid and a fifth time as an adult. He has journalism degrees from the University of Southern California and New York University. You can find Tariq at Space.com and as the co-host to the This Week In Space podcast with space historian Rod Pyle on the TWiT network. To see his latest project, you can follow Tariq on Twitter @tariqjmalik.

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