He's one creative kid

Rarely does a day go by when 10-year-old Shane Sackichand isn’t building something with his Legos. The Valley Stream youngster has many of his creations on display in the children’s room at the Henry Waldinger Memorial Library.

Back in June, Shane’s mother asked Library Director Mamie Eng if he could showcase his work. After receiving permission, Shane spent much of the summer -about an hour or two each day — building Lego projects for the display.

Shane, a fifth-grader at the Robert W. Carbonaro School, has numerous creations in his exhibit including cars, trucks and buildings. He said some of the projects are from sets, while others are his own unique ideas. Often, while riding in the car, Shane will see something and envision how he wants to build it out of Legos. Then he goes home and creates.

Some of his unique projects on display include a toy store and a gas station.

He has been playing with Legos for about five years and said his first ever project was a little red car he built from a set. Shane’s favorite creation ever is a blue car with a motorcycle, and the most intense project was a 1,700-piece cherry picker.

To get all his Lego creations to the library, Shane said he placed them all very carefully on a large piece of cardboard. “We had to be careful not to drop it,” he said.

Lloyd Sackichand, Shane’s father, said his son could harness his skills to become an architect someday. “He could translate it into a career down the line,” Sackichand said. “This is one of those things he has a real good knack for.”

Sackichand described his son as very meticulous and creative, saying those are two very good qualities to have.

Shane said that while he misses his Legos while they are on display in the library, he has plenty more at home to play with. He has more than 20 sets and said he always asks for something new for his birthday and Christmas each year.

But he also finds joy knowing that others enjoy his work. Shane said the librarians have told him that other children are always coming in asking to play with his Legos.

“It’s good to see the kids looking at it,” Eng said. “They have their noses literally pressed to the glass.”

Eng said that the display case always has a children’s theme. Sometimes it promotes a library program, while other times it features a display from within the community, such as Shane’s. Many children have wonderful toy collections, she said, and this gives them a way to share it with others.

Before Shane’s display, which runs to the end of November, another child had their stock car toy collection there. “They’re very proud of it” Eng said of the children. “They bring their family into see it and their friends.”