Each Tuesday night, there’s a heaping pile of Legos poured out on a table at the Chattanooga Public Library’s Downtown Branch. A group of 8- to 12-year-olds gathers around, anxiously awaiting clues. Then, they get 60 seconds to build.
There’s nothing quiet about it. There’s a lot of laughter and outbursts. Sometimes tweens don’t quite get the challenge and other times they go above and beyond, said Tween and Teen Programmer Megan Emery. It’s never the same at the Tween Lego Club that meets each week from 5-6 p.m.
“It’s so much fun,” she said. “With a lot of what kids get in school, there’s so much pressure and stress to perform. This is a chance for them to learn and enjoy themselves and tie it to friendship, which is incredibly important.”
After the tweens have built their response to the clues, the group goes around and talks about the creations. Then they vote on the best one.
For the tweens, it’s a fun opportunity to be creative and have fun. But Emery said they’re getting more out of it than they think. They’re getting hands-on applications, engineering experience and all kinds of conceptual thinking as they create something out of Legos to represent anything from animals to emotions.
“Our overall mission is to be a catalyst in the community for lifelong learning,” Chattanooga Public Library spokeswoman Mary Barnett said of the library’s mission. “Lego Club is a way of keeping that interest in learning and conceptual thinking.”
For younger kids who are also interested in Legos, there’s a Kids Lego Club for ages 0-8. These club meetings are more free form, allowing participants to use their imagination and play freely with one another, Emery explained.