Friday, January 17, 2025
SPRINGTOWN — In today’s day and age, tablets, iPads and social media are mostly what kids are into now. But there is still hope. Building blocks and Legos are still toys kids want to play with. And luckily, the Springtown Public Library has a Lego Club.
During the summer of 2024, Springtown Public Library Director Andie D’Avignon started the Lego Club for mostly local homeschooled kids in Springtown who loved Legos and created a space for those children.
“The inspiration behind the club was simple; we have a lot of our homeschool kids that come in regularly that really seemed to be into Legos, so I figured a Lego club might be a hit,” D’Avignon said. “We held our first Lego club meeting on July 26, 2024.”
The Lego Club meets the last Friday of every month at 1 p.m. Even though this is an activity that's been going on for six months, it's already become a hit with the kids.
“Every month we display whatever they build for the entire month until the day before the next meeting,” D’Avignon said. “They love getting to come in and see their builds up on display behind the circulation desk. This is a relatively new activity for us, but the kids definitely enjoy it.”
A regular attendee of the Lego Club is Mason McBride. Mason is 9 years old, homeschooled and loves to build new creations. His mother, Ramona McBride, brings him up for about an hour and sometimes more due to the fun her son has.
“It gives him something to do,” McBride said. “The kids are super creative and come up with the most innovative ideas and designs.”
Whether it's a large group that month or a smaller bunch, D’Avignon is delighted to provide a place where kids can express themselves.
“Some months we have a ton of kids and some months we just have the die-hard kids,” D’Avignon said. “If the kids are enjoying themselves, I'm happy to provide that platform for them. To me, that is the mission of our Lego Club — to give our kids an opportunity to be creative and to have some fun at the library.”
Like the opportunity this club gives children, D’Avignon emphasizes the importance of libraries in smaller communities.
“Our library is incredibly important to our community,” D’Avignon said. “Smaller, more rural communities have even more needs that are filled by their local libraries. Here at the Springtown Public Library, our patrons can use their library cards to use the public computers, check out books or DVDs, get eBooks or downloadable audiobooks, or request items from other local libraries to be sent here. Anyone can come to use our public computers for job searches, applications, check email, Facebook, print and scan.”
And just like the Lego Club, all are welcome into the library. D’Avignon considers the patrons the heart of this humble community.
“Everyone is welcome at our activities; you don't need to have a library card to attend,” D’Avignon said. “I like to think of our library as the heart of our community. We are privileged to see the babies grow up, we are lucky to enjoy the wisdom and witty humor of our older patrons and then we also get to know everyone else in between.”
Here's a list of some of the upcoming activities:
