Meet the 12 Giant Wooden Trolls Coming to Grand Rapids in 2027
A dozen trolls are coming to Grand Rapids, and for once, this has nothing to do with which side of the Mackinac Bridge you call home.
These visitors have wooden faces, wild hair, and some fairly pointed questions about our species. Why do we throw away perfectly good food? What’s with all the lawn mowing? And why are we constantly staring at those little glowing rectangles?
Thomas Dambo’s TROLLS: A Field Study opens at Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park on May 14, 2027, and runs through October 31, 2027. The outdoor exhibition brings twelve giant troll sculptures to the gardens, each with a personality, a story, and a particular fascination with our strange human habits.
The Artist Turning Our Castoffs Into Characters
Danish artist Thomas Dambo sees possibilities in things the rest of us might send to the dump. His enormous, folklore-inspired trolls take shape from reclaimed wood, discarded pallets, fallen branches, and other rescued materials.
Before becoming known for his wooden giants, Dambo explored music, street art, and scenic design. Today, his work encourages people to get outside, explore, and reconsider what deserves to be called trash. An old pallet might have another life ahead of it. Possibly as someone’s nose.
For Michigan, the exhibition brings a new reason to plan a day around being outdoors. At Meijer Gardens, where art and nature already share the grounds, these twelve characters add a story to follow, whether you’re visiting with kids, meeting friends, or simply overdue for an afternoon away from a screen.
There’s an environmental message here, but the trolls deliver it with curiosity and humor. It’s easier to consider your own habits when a wooden giant is wondering why you do something so peculiar.
These Trolls Have Been Trolling Around the Country
The twelve siblings arriving in Grand Rapids are known as the Twelvelings, and Michigan won’t be their first opportunity to people-watch.
The traveling exhibition has appeared at South Coast Botanic Garden on California’s Palos Verdes Peninsula. It’s also visiting Washington, where the siblings are divided between Northwest Trek Wildlife Park and Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium, with eight at one park and four at the other. South Coast Botanic Garden Foundation
A Field Study is Dambo’s second traveling exhibition created with exhibition producer Imagine, following TROLLS: Save the Humans. This adventure introduces a different cast of twelve sculptures made specifically for the exhibition.
Before they arrive in Grand Rapids, here’s who you’ll be meeting. And watch out for Wilde, who desperately wants to take your mobile phone from you.
Get to Know the Trolls of Meijer Gardens
Their story begins with the youngest sibling, Taks, who ventured into the human world and returned with enough questions to inspire a family expedition. Now his eleven siblings are coming along to investigate.
Together, they’re the Twelvelings, twelve giant trolls studying our curious human habits. Each has a vibe, a particular fascination, and a hairstyle made from a different kind of tree. As you meet them, try looking at our world through their eyes. Some of their observations hit a little close to home.
Taks: The Adventurous One
The youngest sibling started this whole expedition after his nighttime visit to the human world. Taks understands why forest animals find us frightening, but he also thinks we’re clever, creative, and exceptionally good at making snacks. Look for his yew hair and consider which human invention you’d introduce him to first. We suspect pizza would go over well.
Larke: The One Asking About Our Leftovers
You think it’s strange that Larke has a trash can on her head? She thinks it’s strange that we throw away food while other people line up for more. Apparently, her investigation required a closer look. This larch-haired troll has some questions about our wasteful habits, and frankly, the trash-can hat is easier to explain.
Kirse: The Playful One
Kirse may have missed the expedition briefing. She was busy having fun. Along the way, she discovered that little humans like copying her movements, turning her exploration into an impromptu game of follow-the-leader. With cherry-tree hair and an easily distracted spirit, she’s a good reminder to pause for something silly. Try a handstand selfie while you’re there.
Hasse: The Lawn Critic
Hasse cannot understand why humans grow grass around their homes, then send a noisy metal beast out to keep it short. He’s even tried thinking upside down, with no luck. His corkscrew-hazel hair suits his tangled thoughts. What would you tell him about lawn mowers, or what might he tell us about letting things grow?
Lilnut: Catches Humans for Fun
Lilnut looks busy with that big net, but his field research has already uncovered humanity’s greatest achievement: the couch. A human introduced him to one roomy enough to stretch out in any direction, and suddenly our species made a lot more sense. This hazelnut-haired troll may be on an expedition, but he’s clearly thinking about what happens when he gets home. Relatable.
Boge: The Gentle Giant in Training
Boge is learning that humans are a confusing combination of powerful and delicate. We can build enormous structures, but we don’t hold up especially well to being squeezed or shaken. This beech-haired troll is figuring out how to make friends without accidentally squashing them. He’s a useful conversation starter about being gentle with creatures smaller than ourselves.
Bignut: The Schemer
Bignut thinks he’s figured us out. He’s baited a trap with a golden gasoline can because humans seem willing to follow fuel almost anywhere. Beneath that horse-chestnut hairstyle is a troll with a pointed observation about what keeps us moving. Can you spot what makes his bait so tempting to the humans in his story?
Poppi: Watch Your Back (& Your Mobile Phone)
Poppi is prepared to catch you looking down at your mobile device. See that net behind her back? Once she gets you trapped, she might tell you about her fascination with supermarkets, where humans wrap food in packaging, put pictures of the food on the packaging, and finish by making everything beep. You’ll be lucky if she lets you keep your phone when she’s done studying you.
Anja: The Bean Counter
Anja has learned human number words and wants to count everything. Keeping several totals straight is another matter, so she’s devised a system using stones and buckets. With chestnut hair and a determined streak, she’s the sibling turning curiosity into a research project. Pick something to count together as you continue through the gardens.
Birch: The One Sizing Us Up
Birch has noticed that humans come in all sorts of shapes and sizes, and he finds the variety marvelous. He’s busy measuring and comparing, although identifying trees isn’t his specialty, despite his own birch hairstyle. Take a group photo and imagine what he’d jot down about your particular collection of humans.
Wilde: The Notetaker (but Don’t Text Her)
You can’t have a Trolls Field Study without someone keeping notes, and Wilde is writing it all down. She’s especially curious to know why humans spend so much time staring down at their “magic pocket stars.” That would be our phones. The corkscrew-willow-haired observer has noticed we seem to inhabit the screen world and the world around us simultaneously.
Valle: The One Who Needs a Minute
Valle finds the human world exhausting, and Lilnut might need to make room on that couch. Thankfully, he’s discovered that humans need rest, too. The walnut-haired sibling is happy to join us in slowing down. After meeting eleven other trolls, you may understand exactly how he feels.
Get Your Tickets to TROLLS: A Field Study Now
The Twelvelings have questions about humans. Give them something to talk about.
TROLLS: A Field Study comes to Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park in Grand Rapids May 14 through October 31, 2027, and the exhibition is included with general admission. Plan a family outing, recruit a fellow troll enthusiast, or make a date with someone who appreciates your own peculiar human habits.
Get your tickets to TROLLS: A Field Study today
And if your troll hunt takes you above the Mackinac Bridge, Benny the Beard Fisher is already lounging beside the Manistique River in Germfask, proving that at least one Michigan troll prefers life on the other side.