Peter Hoh’s LEGOs at Your Library

Project Details by Fiscal Year
2015 Fiscal Year Funding Amount
$708
Fund Source
Arts & Cultural Heritage Fund
Recipient Type
Libraries
Status
Completed
Start Date
June 2015
End Date
June 2015
Activity Type
Education/Outreach/Engagement
Counties Affected
Brown
Brown
Project Overview
Peter Hoh a Twin Cities educator presented three LEGO programs at the New Ulm Public Library. The morning sessions featured the class Tiny Town. Geared toward children ages 5 and up, this class gave participants the opportunity to work together to create a miniature town built entirely out of LEGOs. The afternoon session featured the advanced class, Zipline & Gadgets. During this class, children ages 8 and up built LEGO gadgets/gizmos and learned how to give their creations movement. While building LEGOs was all about fun, Hoh’s classes offered children the opportunity for creative play and taught them how to put their artistic ideas into physical form (i.e. LEGO building blocks). Hoh’s LEGOs at Your Library was a featured event during the 2015 Summer Reading Program “Every Hero Has a Story.” Understanding the immense popularity of LEGOs, the goal of this program was to reach a wide range of summer reading participants in both the children’s and teen summer reading programs. While these classes were geared for specific age groups, younger children who dropped into the sessions were not left out. Hoh provided an area for very young children to play with Duplo blocks. It was truly a program day geared toward the idea of “something for everyone.”
Project Details
149
Legal Citation / Subdivision
Laws of Minnesota for 2013 Chapter 137, Article 4, Section 2, Subdivision 4
2015 Fiscal Year Funding Amount
$708
Other Funds Leveraged
$255
Proposed Measurable Outcome(s)

Written evaluations were given to all attendees. It was expected that a majority of respondents would:
• learn something new about building with LEGOs.
• be interested in checking out materials about LEGOs from the library.
• be excited to participate in other summer reading activities.

Library staff observed a majority of attendees actively engaging in the program by listening attentively, asking questions, and participating in the activities. Anecdotal responses from attendees confirmed their enjoyment
of the program.

Measurable Outcome(s)

Overall, children responded positively to the LEGOs at Your Library sessions. During the morning “Tiny Town” sessions, all survey respondents indicated they had fun at the program, and the majority learned something new about building with LEGOs. In response to whether or not they would check out books, the majority of Tiny Town participants indicated they would be interested in checking out LEGO books and would
like to come to another library program. Participants in the afternoon “Zip Lines & Gadgets” session also had
fun in their class and were interested in attending another library program. These older readers were not as
eager to check out LEGO books from the library. Overall, the LEGOs at Your Library Program helped to get participants excited about the summer reading program. Some of the comments received that day included:
“I need to build LEGOs,” “Thank you so much,” and “We want stuff like this to keep coming.”

From this librarian’s perspective, the LEGO session far exceeded expectations. Peter Hoh’s classes were
organized and structured, yet children had plenty of room to use their creativity and imagination. Children attending the morning classes used their imagination to build miniature cities. Not only were the buildings impressive, it was especially fun to hear the stories behind the participants’ creations. The LEGO cities had everything from a county fair featuring a demolition derby to a smoothie shop, library, airport, and multiple
parks. During the second session, the landscape expanded from city and farm to the ocean, featuring ships and boats. In the afternoon, older children and teens enjoyed learning about zip lines and gadgets. With four different stations available, participants were kept busy both building and “testing” their creations. It was a great day of learning, fun, and imagination.

Source of Additional Funds

New Ulm Library, o Local businesses and media outlets, publicity

Project Manager
First Name
Dayle
Last Name
Zelenka
Organization Name
Traverse des Sioux Library Cooperative
Street Address
1400 Madison Avenue, Suite 622
City
Mankato
State
MN
Zip Code
56002-5488
Phone
507-625-6169
Email
dzelen@tds.lib.mn.us
Administered By
Administered by
Location

1500 Highway 36 West
Roseville, MN 55113-4266

Phone
651-582-8200