melike75 Posted February 2, 2012 Hey all, So I just started a few months back as being the Young peoples librarian at my Library and one of the things I've started up is a Lego club. I ran Lego sessions over school holidays that went really well - I did basically an adapted version of Creationary, gave out minifigure and Lego book prizes and also of course had free build sessions. It was so popular I'm starting up a regular Lego club. Just wondering if anyone has any thoughts as to what I should be doing with this. I was thinking each month could have its own theme but I was thinking pretty much to just let everyone do what they want to do. Has anyone been to Lego clubs held at Libraries before? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
______ Posted February 2, 2012 (edited) I can't say I have, but it's a great idea! I'm glad yours was so successful though, you would of thought with such a small hobby that not many people would be interested (hence the reason why I have never seen one). Where is your club? Edited February 2, 2012 by halfpenguinhalflego Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SilvaShado Posted February 2, 2012 The library near me has a LEGO meeting every month. My LUG actually helped them get organized since we use the community room to hold our meetings. The library does a theme each time to guide kids on what to build, though they are not restricted to it. Vehicles were very popular, but they also do holidays and nature themes. Then they put everyone's creations in the display case for a month. We also gave them a copy of Creationary and it's been very popular. I would also recommend the Heroica series of games for older kids and Champion for younger kids (though only get Champion if it is on sale as it is grossly overpriced for what you get). Something we do as LUG is find multiple copies of the same polybag set and challenge everyone to build something different with the pieces. Then we vote on the best kid creation and adult creation. We have a prize box for the kids that has a variety of toys (LEGO and non-LEGO - dollar store toys work very well). If you can't find polybags then you'd just need to get enough copies of a variety of pieces so that everyone is working with the same bag of pieces. I recommend 20-40 pieces with a range of piece types. We try to use polybags because it's easier than organizing random pieces. If you have a video set-up, you could always hook up a game system and allow kids to play the LEGO video games. That's about all I can think of. Good luck! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
melike75 Posted February 3, 2012 Penguin: Yeah, it's been immensely popular which is great! I work at Cockburn Libraries in Perth, Western Australia. I know theres a lot of Perth guys n gals on the forum too! Silva: I was thinking of the theme thing and also thinking if there was a way i could display the creations until the next meeting. Have to make sure they're safe and secure tho'. Thats a good idea with the lego board games - I have a few that I wouldnt mind donating. The game idea is good too but I worry that if i brought them in then that could cause problems. I'm sure to have lego games well represented once I get the gaming elemnt introduced next anyway. I am intrigued by the polybag set idea. Do you mean you make up the bags themselves or are youtalking about multiple copies of actual sets you buy from stores. Cos that could be a bit pricey.. Great suggestions though - thanks! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Trent Posted February 3, 2012 I would love to do this in my local library, but I guess you'd need input from a LUG (or a decent investment, which is unlikely given the situation with libraries at the moment) to get a starting amount of bricks? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
melike75 Posted February 4, 2012 I would love to do this in my local library, but I guess you'd need input from a LUG (or a decent investment, which is unlikely given the situation with libraries at the moment) to get a starting amount of bricks? Well as I said I've been using my own up till now but don't really want to do that permanently. I've heard of libraries being able to ask for donations and running lego clubs off that but I've tried and received nothing. No suprise really. I've got a bit of money to spend on Lego but I'm a bit concerned if I'll have enough and dont want to bring my stuff in as well in case it all gets mixed together. Problems problems. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SilvaShado Posted February 4, 2012 Penguin: Yeah, it's been immensely popular which is great! I work at Cockburn Libraries in Perth, Western Australia. I know theres a lot of Perth guys n gals on the forum too! Silva: I was thinking of the theme thing and also thinking if there was a way i could display the creations until the next meeting. Have to make sure they're safe and secure tho'. Thats a good idea with the lego board games - I have a few that I wouldnt mind donating. The game idea is good too but I worry that if i brought them in then that could cause problems. I'm sure to have lego games well represented once I get the gaming elemnt introduced next anyway. I am intrigued by the polybag set idea. Do you mean you make up the bags themselves or are youtalking about multiple copies of actual sets you buy from stores. Cos that could be a bit pricey.. Great suggestions though - thanks! The polybag idea can be pricey. I keep an eye on Target weekly. They often have a lot of polybag sets by the registers and they go on sale at weird points. I got quite a few of the Harry Potter lab for half price. If you have a LEGO store near you, that's the best way to stock up on large quantities of the same pieces. This would allow you to build your own bags of the same pieces. I know the library near me had a very small budget so they got most of their LEGO donated by parents, but they do spend a regular amount on the pick-a-brick cups, like to get tires and wheels and other specialty pieces. I'm not surprised that the video game idea might not be good. I just know it's been done a few times and were successful, though I think the LEGO meetings were in the evening when the normal library was closed and only the community room was open. So it didn't bother anyone. As for displaying, does your library have a glass case near the entry doors? Mine does and it's locked so things are safe inside. Not sure what you'd do otherwise... Good luck! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Trent Posted February 11, 2012 (edited) I've been thinking about this a lot the last few days. I know that I might be asking the impossible here but: - Does anyone know of the demographics of the Lego groups in their local library? (Not strict breakdowns - just, are there more boys than girls, or more girls than boys, or equal numbers?) - Does anyone know the impact of the Lego Clubs on their local library? Does it have a positive effect on people (especially boys) taking books out, or foster an interest in reading / the library? - If you're not involved with libraries yourself, would you take your child along to such a session? Edited February 11, 2012 by Trent Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sid Sidious Posted February 11, 2012 My library has a Lego club where the kids come down a certain day of the week and build something. They get volunteers from the high school and a librarian or two to supervise. The kids can leave their design at the library on top of one of the shelves for display for a week if they want to. I think it's a good idea. It won't cost anything to anyone, and the kids get to show off their Lego skills. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
melike75 Posted February 14, 2012 The polybag idea can be pricey. I keep an eye on Target weekly. They often have a lot of polybag sets by the registers and they go on sale at weird points. I got quite a few of the Harry Potter lab for half price. If you have a LEGO store near you, that's the best way to stock up on large quantities of the same pieces. This would allow you to build your own bags of the same pieces. I know the library near me had a very small budget so they got most of their LEGO donated by parents, but they do spend a regular amount on the pick-a-brick cups, like to get tires and wheels and other specialty pieces. I'm not surprised that the video game idea might not be good. I just know it's been done a few times and were successful, though I think the LEGO meetings were in the evening when the normal library was closed and only the community room was open. So it didn't bother anyone. As for displaying, does your library have a glass case near the entry doors? Mine does and it's locked so things are safe inside. Not sure what you'd do otherwise... Good luck! I dont think we have polybag sets in Australia - at least, I havent seen them. Yep - we have a glass cabinet by the doors at one of the branches - I'm assuming its secure and would love to display the kids creations during the times between sessions. I've been thinking about this a lot the last few days. I know that I might be asking the impossible here but: - Does anyone know of the demographics of the Lego groups in their local library? (Not strict breakdowns - just, are there more boys than girls, or more girls than boys, or equal numbers?) - Does anyone know the impact of the Lego Clubs on their local library? Does it have a positive effect on people (especially boys) taking books out, or foster an interest in reading / the library? - If you're not involved with libraries yourself, would you take your child along to such a session? Well, give me a bit of time and I can tell you. :) There are probably more boys than girls but not by that much. I would have to assume it has a postive effect, its getting people into the library that may not come in previously and since we're buil;ding on various themes each week hopefully we'll see more castles and cars books go out beside books on Lego itself. And finally I'd def take my son to a Lego club depending on how it was run. I really want to try my best to make this something special as I think this could really develop into something substantial here. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
melike75 Posted February 24, 2012 I did post this elsewhere but thought I might update any of those who are following this thread. I've had to expand it into 2 sessions as the response has been pretty good without any marketing or promoting at all. The problem now is my kids (and myself) dont really want me using our own Lego anymore and the council doesnt want me to purchase second hand lego as they dont get the right kind of paperwork out of it, so I'm pretty much restricted to brand new sets. Can anyone recommend something for me to buy to get the most pieces per cost? I was thinking those 80$ tubs of lego plus some creator sets? I'm not sure if theres something I'm forgetting. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
meyerc13 Posted February 24, 2012 (edited) I don't know if these sets are available yet where you are, but if they are I would start with: 4628 Fun with Bricks- This is a great way to get a good selection of bricks in a variety of colors. 4635 Fun with Vehicles - Sets like the one above are great for bricks, but never seem to have enough of the fun parts like wheels and windshields. This set fixes that problem, and is a great complement to a standard brick box for someone starting a LEGO collection. I bought this set for my kids, and just bought another one for a birthday present for my son's friend, and plan to buy a third for a nephew's birthday. This set is that good. Much like last year's 5933 Airport Building Set. If you start with those two sets, the one thing you'll still be left wanting are windows/doors for building houses. One of the Creator Houses would fulfill that need. I'd say if you stick to the Bricks and More sets/brick boxes, as well as Creator, you'll get a lot of parts for the least amount of money. Another option, if you can find them, would be the Dacta sets: http://www.brickset.com/browse/themes/?theme=Dacta&year=2010 Edited February 24, 2012 by meyerc13 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
melike75 Posted February 24, 2012 I don't know if these sets are available yet where you are, but if they are I would start with: 4628 Fun with Bricks- This is a great way to get a good selection of bricks in a variety of colors. 4635 Fun with Vehicles - Sets like the one above are great for bricks, but never seem to have enough of the fun parts like wheels and windshields. This set fixes that problem, and is a great complement to a standard brick box for someone starting a LEGO collection. I bought this set for my kids, and just bought another one for a birthday present for my son's friend, and plan to buy a third for a nephew's birthday. This set is that good. Much like last year's 5933 Airport Building Set. If you start with those two sets, the one thing you'll still be left wanting are windows/doors for building houses. One of the Creator Houses would fulfill that need. I'd say if you stick to the Bricks and More sets/brick boxes, as well as Creator, you'll get a lot of parts for the least amount of money. Another option, if you can find them, would be the Dacta sets: http://www.brickset.com/browse/themes/?theme=Dacta&year=2010 Excellent! Thanks for that Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Trent Posted April 17, 2012 (edited) Hiya guys, I was wondering how melike was going on with the Lego club - is it growing in popularity? How did your set purchases go? Edited April 17, 2012 by Trent Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
