After all those months of planning and preparation, the Expo itself went remarkably well.\u00c2\u00a0 The volunteers were fantastic and took over the nitty-gritty details, leaving me free to chat with kids and their parents and assist the judges.\u00c2\u00a0 The judges were equally fantastic, taking their job very seriously while having a great time talking with each child and viewing their models.\u00c2\u00a0 The kids and their parents were terrific, enjoying each other’s models while loving the moments of unadultered attention as a judge listened to the story behind their model.<\/p>\n
The first age group, the 3 to 5 year olds, was small and manageable, allowing the judges to really give personal attention to each of these tender young Lego artists.\u00c2\u00a0 Lots of great models here: a tricked out Duplo mini-van,\u00c2\u00a0Stretchy Frogs Super Agent Spy Mobiles, a rocket, an amusement park, and others that I (unfortunately!) can’t remember.\u00c2\u00a0 For this age group, it’s more about the story behind the model than the model itself, and the judges (Marc and Tina) did a wonderful job listening to each child and remembering key points about each model when it came time to present the Certificates of Achievement.\u00c2\u00a0 Marc and Tina quite wisely decided to forgo place ribbons for this group, and instead placed the emphasis on giving each child a moment in the spotlight; everyone got a round of applause and knew that his or her model had been seen and appreciated.\u00c2\u00a0 There were some tears when I drew the raffle winner, though, which made me think I need to do that age group’s raffle drawing differently, either altering my announcement to warn that only one child will win, or drawing the winner after the Expo, or perhaps eliminating the raffle item entirely.\u00c2\u00a0 Something to chew on…<\/p>\n
The next age group, the 5 to 9 year olds, was enormous and enthusiastic.\u00c2\u00a0 The judges for this group, Bess, Marc, Rob, and David, were a bit overwhelmed by the volume of entries and the verbosity of the model builders, putting my careful plans way behind schedule.\u00c2\u00a0 Once again, I’ll have to make changes for next year here.\u00c2\u00a0 I think the best route will be to divide this group into two groups, which I can do based upon the ages of the attendees on Saturday (Excel spreadsheet, here we come!).\u00c2\u00a0 But even though the judging was long and involved here, I think that the judges still enjoyed themselves.\u00c2\u00a0 This age group is the “sweet spot” for Legos, brimming over with joy and creativity and storytelling.\u00c2\u00a0 There were Lego museums, Lego spaceships, Lego wars, Lego recycling centers, and even a Lego rainbow (my favorite).\u00c2\u00a0 And, happily, a mix of boys and girls participating.\u00c2\u00a0 The judges did award place ribbons here,\u00c2\u00a0though there were multiple 1st place winners, and multiple 2nd and 3rd place winners.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0This age expected competition, and no one was\u00c2\u00a0distressed by the\u00c2\u00a0awarding of ribbons.\u00c2\u00a0 Likewise, I prefaced my drawing of the raffle Lego set with some sort of garbled statement that only one person would\u00c2\u00a0win, please no one be upset, yadda yadda yadda.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n
The oldest age group, ages 9 – 12+, turned out to be only 10 and 11 year old boys.\u00c2\u00a0 (What happens to the girls?\u00c2\u00a0 How\u00c2\u00a0sad!)\u00c2\u00a0 This group was more focused on mechanics and engineering, with lots of remote controlled models and cool mechanical design.\u00c2\u00a0 The judges for this group, Bess, Rob, and Bart, had an easier time making the rounds, but a much, much harder time picking winners.\u00c2\u00a0 How to compare a lobsterboat setup with a remote-controlled car?\u00c2\u00a0 How to measure conceptual design versus technical expertise?\u00c2\u00a0 Ultimately, they wisely decided to award 2 of each ribbon, negotiating amongst themselves as they narrowed the field down.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0And the raffle drawing was painless and happy.<\/p>\n
Though exhausting, it was a wonderful, wonderful day.\u00c2\u00a0 So many happy kids, so much community spirit and good will in the room.\u00c2\u00a0 And it was terrific to be part of something that emphasized childrens’ creativity with their hands and their minds – no t.v., no computers.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n
I’ll be sending out personal thank-yous to each volunteer and judge, but I’d also like to print here\u00c2\u00a0a very heartfelt expression of gratitude to this special group of people.\u00c2\u00a0 Without them, there wouldn’t have been a Lego Expo.\u00c2\u00a0 Thank you.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
After all those months of planning and preparation, the Expo itself went remarkably well.\u00c2\u00a0 The volunteers were fantastic and took over the nitty-gritty details, leaving me free to chat with kids and their parents and assist the judges.\u00c2\u00a0 The judges were equally fantastic, taking their job very seriously while having a great time talking with … Continue reading Lego Expo, part two<\/span>