This Denver Lego contest will inspire you to build something museum-worthy

The sixth annual Denver Public Library Lego building contest showcases the best and most of creative builds from kids and families across the city.

Beyond supplying reading material for their patrons, the Denver Public Library is on a mission to strengthen their community in an enjoyable way, while inspiring the city to think like an engineer. An annual Lego building contest is one of the ways they hope to do this.

Each year, the Lego contest has a theme, and this year the models were inspired by the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. The focus on exploration and outer space yielded a lot of transportation devices from boats and arctic explorers to an intergalactic vessel and super car. Yet, builders also submitted scenes of archeological digs and science labs. All told, the library received 298 entries across 21 branches. The 21 winners received tickets to the museum and 40 more runner-ups received Lego books to inspire future builds.

The Lego models remain on display at various branches. Lego fans nationwide can view the models in photos from the Denver Public Library. Kevin Beaty, with the Denverite blog, also visited a few branches to photograph, quite professionally, some of the sets.

In addition to the contest, the library hosted a number of Lego-themed events, such as build parties. The goal, a Denver Public Library spokesperson told the Denverite, is to help “children and teens think through engineering concepts.” At the same time, they want to “stimulate their imaginations, all in a setting where they can work together with their families and friends.”

The contest has spanned a range of themes over the past six years, giving kids and their families no shortage of variety and inspiration. Last year, the library challenged builders to come up with something for a “Historic Denver” theme that represented the people, events and buildings of the city. In 2015, it was “Wild About Books” inspired by the Denver Zoo. In each case, the library works to not only engage Denver’s Lego fans with the library, but also with other institutions in the city.