Leggo my LEGOs

By Patricia Calhoun Thu., Oct. 12 2006 at 2:52 PM

Categories: Things to Do

There are toys, and then there are the classics. LEGO blocks stand staunchly, a zillion towers strong (all of them handbuilt by families around the world over a period of several decades), on the immortal side of the gate, simply because absolutely everyone loves them: boys, girls and especially obsessive dads who commandeer the colorful bricks and build away for hours while the kids grow bored and find something else to do.

So give ColoradoFIRST, the regional branch of an ongoing national youth robotics competition, credit for liberating LEGOs and returning them to the hands of children. And if you'd like to see the technology-boosting organization at work, drop by the Denver Museum of Nature & Science on Saturday, October 14, for the FIRST LEGO League Rookie Booster Event, featuring teams of elementary- and and middle-school students collaborating to build LEGO robots that must then maneuver challenge courses. Engineers-in-training who aren't already on a team might just decide to sign up for one, and even those nosy dads who hog the LEGOs at home won't feel left out: Kids and parents are invited to work together during a concurrent public LEGO Challenge event on the second level of the museum.

Build it and they will come: Join the rookies from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the museum, 2001 Colorado Boulevard; the event is free with regular museum admission. Call 303-322-7009 or visit www.dmns.org. -- Susan Froyd

Email to Friend