Sydney Opera House

I sit right by the big, blue, sparkly water in a sunny city. My roofs are big and white and they curve up to the sky like giant smiles. Some people say I look like gleaming white shells you might find on the beach. Others think I look like the big white sails of a ship, ready to float away on an adventure. Seagulls fly over my head and say hello with a little squawk. Boats sail right past me and give a happy toot-toot to say hi. I love watching the sunshine dance on my shiny roofs all day long. Can you guess who I am? I am the Sydney Opera House.

Once upon a time, I was just a wonderful dream in someone’s imagination. A kind man named Jørn Utzon, who lived in a faraway land called Denmark, had a brilliant idea. He was peeling an orange one day, and he saw how the pieces curved in such a beautiful way. He thought, I want to build a house that looks just like that. So, he drew a picture of me. Building me was like putting together a giant puzzle. Many clever people worked together for a very long time. They started in the year 1959. Carefully, piece by piece, they put over one million shiny, special tiles on my roofs to make me strong and bright. It was a very big job, and it took until the year 1973 for me to be all finished and ready for visitors.

Now, I am a happy house filled with magic. The most wonderful things happen inside me. My rooms are full of beautiful music from big orchestras, songs from happy singers, and stories from fun plays. Dancers twirl and leap across my stages like graceful butterflies. People come from all over the world to see the amazing shows. I love to hear them laugh and clap their hands. Their happy sounds fill me up from my tippy-top roofs to my lowest floors. I am a special place where everyone can share the magic of stories and songs, shining bright for the whole world to see.