Library’s Lego Club builds fun for all ages

Morrison-Talbott Library in Waterloo has been reigning in dozens of kids each month with its most popular reoccurring event to date: Lego Club.

Tammi Eschmann, youth services librarian, said library staff had talked about starting a type of Lego Club for several years, but they were unsure of how they’d get the Legos and how they would run it.

With the help of Nice Twice Resale Shop and other donors, they were able to start the club up.

The club meets once a month from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on every third Saturday and is open to all ages, regardless of whether or not they have a library card.

“It’s just gone crazy,” Eschmann said. “The feedback from the kids and the parents has been incredible.”

The club has been going on for about two years and is just as strong as ever, participation-wise.

When kids come in, they can sign up for an attendance prize, and they get a bucket of Legos to build with.

“Once they finish their project, we display it for the whole month,” Eschmann said. “They think that is just the coolest thing in the world.”

Eschmann said the best part of the club for her is watching kids who have never even met work on projects together.

“They’ll come in and not even know who they’re sitting next to,” she said. “All of a sudden, I’ll look over and they’ll all be sharing and looking for parts together.”

Legos have been around since the mid-1900s and are still just as popular as ever.

“The LEGO Movie” 3D animated film just came out in February, and Eschmann said she will probably purchase a copy of it for the library when it comes out on DVD.

“I think it’ll be a hot commodity when it does come out,” she said.

Eschmann said there are a few younger kids that come to build, and they have the bigger Legos (Duplo blocks) set aside for them, since they are geared toward children ages 2 to 5.

She said the majority of kids who come in are in the 5-9 age range.

“Parents have told me as soon as the kids leave that they’re asking again when the next one is,” Eschmann said. “I think we could get by with doing it more than once a month, but it takes a little extra help to make it work.”

Eschmann said almost every library now has some sort of Lego event, club or storytime.

“I encourage them to pick up a book when they leave,” she said. “I tell them we have lots of Lego books, and those fly off the shelves.”

Eschmann said the Lego craze over the years has been crazy, and the industry that’s built from it has been incredible.

There are so many accessories and different sets, but it still started out with just a block,” she said. “And that’s what’s still going to this day.

Republic-Times

The Republic-Times has been Monroe County's hometown newspaper since 1890. Serving Columbia, Waterloo, Valmeyer, Hecker and every town in between, we strive to provide the news that matters most to you in the timeliest manner possible. For more information on subscribing to the Republic-Times, call 939-3814 or visit the "Subscribe" page on this website.
HTC web
MCEC Web