Lego hour at Merced Library promotes creativity

Many people’s childhood memories involve Legos. For decades, the classic colorful building blocks have provided children with hours of entertainment.

Shilin Patel, 16, remembers his excitement when opening a new kit of Legos, an excitement that he now wants to share with the children of Merced County.

Patel, a senior at Modesto High School and alumnus of Our Lady of Mercy in Merced, spearheaded Family Lego Time at the Merced County Library. Lego Hour, as Patel calls it, takes place the first Friday every month from about 3 to 4:30 p.m.

Last month was the first time Lego Hour took place at the Merced County Library, and the public’s interest surprised Patel and librarians alike.

“Last time there was at least 120 children here. I stopped counting after 100,” Librarian Erica Chilcoat said.

The children’s program is a replica of the Family Lego Time in the Turlock library, which Patel established with his own Lego collection.

“It’s fun working and playing with kids,” Patel said. “I start building with them and it brings back so many good memories of me sitting in my room and just building for hours.”

Patel’s mother, Karen Patel, said that Family Lego Time started as her son’s community service project required by school. But the satisfaction of giving back was too great to stop after completing his service hours.

As his Lego project expands, he’s had to seek donations. Family and friends have donated their Lego collections and even money for the purchase of new kits.

At only 16, Patel has quite the fundraising experience. At Modesto High, he is part of several service clubs. He is currently involved in Project Hope, which raises money for the building of wells in Ghana. During his time at Our Lady of Mercy, he participated in a similar project, where he helped raise over $1,000 for clean water in Guatemala.

Patel is in the middle of applying for colleges and wants to study engineering. He believes his love for Legos sparked his interest in building and design. Besides fun, Legos also promote creativity and, when shared with others, social skills, he said.

Parents, like Tina Kline, see the benefits of encouraging creativity among their children.

“It teaches our kids fine motor skills and makes them think beyond the TV and video games,” she said. “Nowadays it’s hard to imagine when everything is imagined for you.”

Kline, an Atwater resident, typically takes her 12-year-old son to libraries in Stanislaus County, which tend to offer more programs for children, she said. “I remember (Merced County Library) used to have puppet shows, family night, Shakespeare night … and slowly all these programs started disappearing, so this (Lego Hour) is just great.”

The children’s creations are put on display at the library for about two weeks. Chilcoat said Lego Hour, like other successful children’s programs, helps bring families to the library and make them aware of the resources available.

Patel and his mother hope to expand Lego Hour to other libraries in Merced County. They continue to seek Lego donations and volunteers to carry on the program at other branches.

This story was originally published November 9, 2014 at 6:13 PM with the headline "Lego hour at Merced Library promotes creativity."