Cooper Wright stands beside his completed Lego World Map. Contributed / Jeff Kinney
Cooper Wright got his first Lego set when he was 2. By age 3, he was building Lego sets intended for adults. And he kept going.
Wright, now 13, has set a Guinness World Record for building Lego’s largest set, the Art World Map with 11,695 pieces, in 9 hours, 14 minutes and 49 seconds, beating the previous record by about two hours. He built the map in July of last year and Guinness notified him last month that he is now the official record holder.
Cooper Wright works on the Lego World Map last July in an attempt to break the world record for time taken to complete it. He did it. Contributed / Jeff Kinney
“I like the building aspect of Legos,” Cooper, who lives in Cumberland and attends North Yarmouth Academy, told The Forecaster. “My parents say I’m creative, so that’s part of it.”
He took one practice run with the Art World Map before attempting the record.
“Most people will build the set four or five times before they attempt to beat the world record,” said Cooper’s father, Craig Wright. “He built one for pleasure and then said, ‘I can do this.’”
Two timekeepers, two other witnesses and his parents watched as Cooper put the map together. The process was documented on video and submitted to Guinness.
Jeff Kinney, a family friend who has known Cooper since birth, said it was “awesome” to watch him at work.
“Cooper’s a very analytical, thoughtful young man who likes process and protocol, so it’s been pretty cool to watch him snap into Legos,” Kinney said. “He thrives on completion of a task, so to be able to sit there and watch this take place is pretty incredible.”
Cooper Wright earlier in his Lego career. He started building with the blocks at age 2. Contributed / Craig Wright
Cooper set the Art World Map record with only one bathroom break and while watching movies, Kinney said.
Cooper now has his sights set on another world record, this one involving the Eiffel Tower Lego set. It’s a record that hasn’t been attempted yet, and he has eye on the title.
“I hope I’ll be able to set the Eiffel Tower record,” he said.
He has submitted his request to attempt the record to the Guinness and is waiting to hear if it will be accepted.
Cooper also plays soccer and is a boxer, and his family and friends believe he is capable of achieving great things even beyond Legos.
“I hope that Cooper takes his knowledge and motivation and applies it to something that he’s passionate about,” Kinney said.
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