LEGOLAND Discovery Centre Boston honours young boy

The LEGOLAND Discovery Centre Boston is making a touching to tribute to a young LEGO fan who recently passed away.

The 20 foot brick built giraffe that adorns the LEGOLAND Discovery Centre will be named ‘Gio’ in honour of Giovanni “Gio” Maggiore, who tragically died aged six years old.

Mass Live shared the news:

The renaming ceremony at LEGOLAND follows a contest held by a New York animal park to name an actual baby giraffe. April the giraffe became a web phenomenon when the Animal Adventure Park in Harpursville, New York broadcast her long pregnancy and labor process through a live-streaming webcam. The animal’s keepers hosted an international contest to name the new baby calf, whose birth was witnessed by more than a million viewers worldwide.

The Maggiore family in Medford rallied voters to name the famous baby giraffe after their late son. Voters launched “Gio” into the top 10 choices list. But of the finalists, the giraffe’s keeper ultimately chose the name “Tajiri,” which means king, hope and confidence in Swahili.

The young boy’s family described Gio as “a very determined and witty little boy” with a personality and laugh that “could melt your heart.”

The renaming ceremony will take place on Wednesday, May 31.