Famed LEGO Giraffe to be Named After Giraffe-loving Boy Who Died

The giant toy brick giraffe standing tall at Legoland is going to be given the most beautiful namesake.

The beloved Legoland Discovery Center giraffe in Boston, Massachusetts is to be named after Gio Maggiore – a 6-year-old boy who adored the long-legged animals before he passed away.

The youngster died of congenital heart disease in April – but before he did, Gio spent all of his time watching the live stream of a pregnant giraffe at the New York zoo. His parents attempted to have the newborn calf named after him, but zookeepers decided on Tajili instead.

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A friend of the family then reached out to Legoland asking for their own plastic giraffe to adopt the boy’s name. Sure enough, the center honored the request and said they would officially rename their 22,000 brick giraffe after the Maggiore’s late son.

As of May 31st, Tessie the 20-foot-tall sculpture will be known as Gio — the perfect name for a giraffe.

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