On a miserable, drizzly day in late June, Hayley Hardstaff, a marine biologist, took a walk along Portwrinkle Beach in Cornwall, England, and discovered a dragon. It was a Lego piece — black, plastic ...

There are black bats and witches’ hats, brooms and frying pans, dragons and magic wands, monster feet and life rafts. There’s even a news crew. It’s an array of random miniature objects, and together ...