So you want to start a Lego club? What is stopping you? I set up the Lego club at Burnage library in
April 2016 and haven’t looked back. Initially my plan was to host the club in the school holidays on a weekday morning. It quickly became clear that the club was very popular and I decided to move to a Saturday and put the club on every other week. I have 3 children and we have collected a lot of
Lego over the years so we had enough to start with and we have collected more Lego through a
crowd funder and through donations to the club each week.
My Top Tips;
1. Free play: Kids love to free play don’t worry about having specific sets (which are expensive to buy) and have the Lego mixed up.
2. Lego Bags: These are the best thing ever! If you are handy on a sewing machine you can make your own, they are also very reasonable if bought on EBay or amazon. I now have 4 large bags to spread the Lego out. It is so easy to contain the bricks and quick to tidy.
3.Mini figures: These are loved by the kids to bring their builds to life; I keep these and the wheels asseparate as possible, storing the figures in a Lego Head who is called Eddie!
4.Little ones: Think about younger siblings, I have a rucksack full of Duplo and stickle bricks so the
under 4s can join in.
5.Refreshments: Lego club gets hot and it is thirsty work building. I offer tea, coffee & juice as well as biscuits. Parents come to socialise as well as to build and it is a good way to have a chat. I occasionally bake cakes to sell to raise funds too.
6.How much Lego do I need? We have around 30 kilos in total we probably started with around 20
Kilos. You could start with less than his around 10 – 15 kilos would probably be enough
depending on how many attend. Prices for second hand Lego is around £15-£20 a Kilo on EBay. It is also possible to pick it up relatively cheaply from selling pages but it takes a lot of time checking for bargains.
7.Transporting the Lego: I do not drive, and had started off getting taxis or lifts from friends to the
library, which is only about half a mile away from home. It was frustrating to be so close and yet so far away. I then decided on a bike trailer and now we transport all the Lego on foot.
8. Spead the word. I use facebook and set up a page to promote the club, I set up events and share them on local facebook groups. The library has it's own page and website too. I also emailed local schools and had flyers put on community notice boards.
9.Get down to the childrens level: Chat with the children abiut their builds, you will not regret it. I get told some brilliant stories. Take photos and let the children see their builds. It gives them a real sense of acheivement.
10. Have fun. Make sure you get to join in chat and have a great time.
Please do not hesitate to contact me if ou want any further advice on starting up your very own Lego club, I am more than happy to help.