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A Few Clouds Lego club a hit at Waldinger Library
A call to the public for donations of old Legos yielded thousands of pieces of those tiny multi-colored bricks. Now, children can come to the Henry Waldinger Memorial Library and put their creative minds to work.
Both the Lego Club, for children in grades 3-6, and Lego Club Junior, for children in grades K-2, have been a huge success. Library Director Mamie Eng said there is room for 16 children each session and there is always a waiting list. “It’s a very popular program for girls and boys,” she said.
The children can look through books of Lego projects and build something from there, or create their own masterpiece. At the end of each session, the children proudly display their work to the others.
Children’s Librarian Jaclyn Kunz said most children like to “do their own thing.” And every child comes up with a story behind their Lego creation. “They share what they’ve made,” she said, “and they’re always really excited about it.”
Eng said that a lot of the children have their own Legos at home, but it’s nice for them to come to the library and share their common interest with other kids. She said they often work together, and sometimes against each other, to build the biggest and best Lego creations.
Landon Somerville, 5, said he has a lot of Legos at home and loves building cars that he can put a Lego person in.
His mother, Ruan, said that Landon builds whatever he imagines and his most creative project was a spaceship. She said the library program gives her son the chance to socialize with other kids and show off his work.
“He loves building Legos, he builds all sorts of things,” she said. “My husband and I are always amazed at what he builds.”
Kunz said she will sometimes ask the children to create their Lego project around a certain theme, such as animals, outer space or bridges and tunnels. The clubs meets a few times each month on Mondays and Fridays.
Eng said that in December, she asked library patrons for their unused Legos and was very pleased with the response. Of course, she said, more donations are always welcome.
