And it’s all done – the third annual Lego Expo is over.

This one is all a blur to me, unfortunately.  I walked around the Expo like a stupid tourist who only takes photos of their trip and doesn’t take the time to actually experience the trip.  I got photos of every kid’s model, to put into the Shutterfly album for the library collection, but I only actually looked at a couple of the models that the kids made – the result of being exhausted and a wee little bit still in pain.  What a shame, since I really love seeing the awesome creativity of the kids.

But I know that there were some really great models: listening to the judges deliberate, I was impressed by their enthusiasm and respect for what the kids had created.  It’s always fun for me to hear the judges – five for each of the two older groups this year – talk about the kids’ models and decide how to distribute the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place ribbons.  I try to keep my mouth shut during the deliberations, and simply serve as the secretary, keeping track of the names that each judge puts out as ribbon contenders and collating the Certificates of Achievement with the place ribbons [each child who attends gets a Certificate, and some also get ribbons].  This year, the judges for the middle group of ages six to eight decided that they wanted to give out ribbons specific to each age – one first place, one second place, and one third place for the six year olds, and also the seven year olds, and then the eight year olds.  What a lovely solution; that’s one that I’ll put in my notes for next year and propose for the judges next year, if they don’t come up with it themselves.

But it’s funny how my role as the children’s librarian running the Lego Expo is so very different from my old role years ago as the manager of the Toy Shop at the store’s Lego Expo.  Back in the day, my boss, the store’s owner, did all the hard work coordinating the location, setup, refreshments, and judges, and I got to do the easier tasks of checking kids in as they arrived, passing out t-shirts, and judging.  Yes, I got to be a judge back then, and I loved it – loved it.  I loved the kids’ stories about their models, I loved really getting to talk one on one with the kids and take a lot of time to look at their models, and I loved taking what I knew of Lego sets (which was a lot in those days) and seeing how the kids had used specialized components in unique and totally innovative ways that went way beyond what the Lego designers had officially intended.

Obviously, as the town’s children’s librarian, my purpose at the library Lego Expo is completely different; I need to be the organizational force, the non-judgemental smiling face that makes sure everyone is happy and settled in.  Which is still cool, and if I were more up to snuff this year, I would have had a great time like I did the last two years.  So hopefully next year my health (dental and otherwise) will be normal, and I’ll have more fun.

One last important item:  a big, big thank you to all of the judges and the volunteers and most especially my fabulous coworkers, Jennifer, Margaret, and Emma, for making the day a huge happy success for all.  🙂