EDGEWATER — Wednesday afternoons at the Edgewater Library are about building imagination.
On April 1, 8-year-old Jackline Kibozi worked on building a house, a young man leafed through some books for ideas of what to build and 3-year-old Xavier Skaggs stared at the small building blocks in amazement.
All these children were taking part in the library’s Lego day — kids get 90 minutes and can build something specific or just play with the popular building blocks.
Begun in mid-2013 at the Conifer Library, the Lego days have been growing in popularity in recent months, and now most of Jefferson County’s libraries are participating.
Amy Beebe, library supervisor at the , said the program started there in December. The library received its toy sets via donations, mostly from two men in their 20s giving up their Legos.
The program started on the second and fourth Wednesdays of the month, but Beebe said it was confusing and kids were showing up on off weeks hoping to play, so she made it a weekly occurrence. It’s been a hit so far, averaging about 25 kids per week.
“We generally just have programs in the summer, and this is as popular as those,” Beebe said.
The program also gives youth access to things they may not have at home.
As Kibozi worked on her house, she said that Wednesdays were the only days she gets to play with Legos.
Roberta Shearer, Skaggs’ grandmother, said she brings her grandson every Wednesday that she is watching him. She said she thinks it’s a positive program and it helps her grandson interact and learn from other children.
“It’s Lego Wednesday, and that’s what we do,” she said. “It’s really good and it’s really nice because different kids come.”
During the program, kids can drop in anytime between 3:30 and 5 p.m.
At the in south Jefferson County, the Lego days are the fourth Tuesday of each month for an hour. The next Lego day is scheduled for 4-5 p.m. April 28.
Columbine Library children’s librarian Sheryl Ditton said the program has been so successful — an average of 75 children each week — that she will add a second week in the summer and have some Saturdays and Sundays to try and fit as many schedules as possible.
“It’s a good way to get the kids to just work on things together,” Ditton said.
The program at Columbine is structured, with tasks given to kids or teams of kids to build within the hour. The kids can then show off what they’ve created at the end of the session. Kids younger than 5 typically just play on their own with their families, but Ditton said she’s seen a lot of the older kids helping younger ones during the session.
She said she was excited when the program was kicking off in January and is looking forward to it expanding this summer.
“We just think it’s really good for the kids because it gives them a time to be creative and share innovative ideas,” she said. “I think that’s the best part of it.”
Joe Vaccarelli: 303-954-2396, jvaccarelli@denverpost.com or twitter.com/joe_vacc
Lego day locations, times
Columbine Library, 7706 W. Bowles Ave., Littleton area: 4-5 p.m. fourth Tuesdays
Arvada Library, 7525 W. 57th Ave.: various times
Belmar Library, 555 S. Allison Parkway, Lakewood: 2-4 p.m. third Sundays
Conifer Library, 10441 Jefferson County 73: 4-5 p.m. second Thursdays
Edgewater Library, 5843 W. 25th Ave.: 3:30-5 p.m. Wednesdays
Evergreen Library, 5000 Jefferson County 73: 4:30-5:30 p.m. second Mondays
Golden Library, 1019 10 St. Will resume when library reopens in June
Standley Lake Library, 8485 Kipling St., Arvada: 1-3 p.m. fourth Sundays
