The Junior Master Model Builder Panel

Willy Wonka doesn't exist -- a fact I've come to terms with over the year. But if he did, he might look something like Alex Bidolak -- the postman-turned-master model builder at the LEGOLAND Discovery Center in Manchester, England.

And Mr. Bidolak has chosen 16 children to pass on his secret model-building tips -- holy golden ticket, Charlie -- as part of a junior master model builder panel. Could you have any more street cred as a 10-year-old than to be a junior master model builder?

The LEGO equivalent of a police explorer program is likely the closest we come to visiting Wonka's Factory today, but I'll take it. It's a great way to reach out to the kids today that tell me they want to be LEGO set designers. I just wonder what's the age limit on becoming a junior master model builder.

Image via sappymoosetree.