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LEGOMania strikes library
By Sean Barron
WARREN
After the third attempt, 12-year-old Brook Sechler’s tower finally withstood a mild “earthquake.”
“I made the base stronger and the middle with large squares. We’re trying to make it as big as we can,” the Willard PreK-8 School sixth-grader explained, referring to an elaborate structure she made from LEGO building blocks.
Teaming up with her for the intricate and creative undertaking was 8-year-old Riley Cordell.
The girls were among the youngsters who stretched their imaginations and enjoyed plenty of fun and challenges during Saturday afternoon’s LEGOMania at Warren-Trumbull County Public Library, 444 Mahoning Ave. NW.
The theme for the two-hour event, which was for youngsters age 5 to 12, was building towers, though they were free to assemble whatever they wished, explained Taylor Kundel-Gower, children’s librarian.
Five tables containing the library’s LEGO blocks were set up for participants. Also part of the festivities was an “earthquake simulator,” in which three 10-inch pieces of wrapping-paper rolls were sandwiched between two slabs of cardboard on which were two large rubber bands.
A main challenge for Brook and the other children was to place what they had built on the “simulator,” then shake it and have their creations withstand the turbulence.
Accompanying Brook were her brother, Braven Sechler, 10, and her father, Paul Thomas Jr.
“He’s a LEGO maniac,” said Dino Schaaf of Warren, referring to his 7-year-old son, Austin. “He got about eight sets of LEGOs for Christmas and had them built in about three days.”
During the LEGOMania gathering, Austin, who is a Jefferson Elementary School second-grader and a diehard Cleveland Browns fan, concentrated heavily on each detail of his tower.
His focus was on adding walls and a roof to the outside, along with a cash register and book to the inside.
“I have trees; I have rocks; I have people,” Austin said proudly. “My dad just helped me a little bit.”
After completing his tower, building an airplane was on the agenda for Austin, who listed math and science as his favorite subjects.
Stoically putting together a plane or a spaceship was a top priority for Amirah Haynes, a Howland Glen Primary School second-grader, who came with her great-grandmother, Lavania Henderson of Howland.
“I built a rainforest and a cabin,” the 7-year-old girl said in recounting some of her recent successes with LEGOs, something she’s enjoyed for as long as she can remember.
For Lavania and Amirah, coming to Saturday’s festivities carried extra enjoyment because Mary’s dance competitions the past two years had prevented her from attending, said Lavania, who wasn’t shy about expressing her great-granddaughter’s love of the popular interlocking plastic pieces.
“I just picked up 8,000 pieces of LEGOs off the floor [at home],” she recalled with a chuckle. “It took all day.”
For her part, Kundel-Gower found herself caught up in the festivities, as she sought to finish a step-patterned rainbow that another child had started but never completed.
The event also was valuable because it afforded participants many opportunities to use their imaginations, the librarian said, adding, “They also can build whatever they can think of and can build it here.”