Schaumburg: Legoland

Schaumburg, Illinois -- During the holidays, our family took a long-promised trip to Legoland Discovery Center in honor of Eldest Child's birthday. Here are a few views of the El as portrayed in the Miniland Chicago exhibit. According to Legoland's website, almost two million bricks are used to depict Chicago's landmarks. 

The El zips back and forth 

Brick city at night

Batavia: Lego Day

Scenes from last year's
Batavia library
 Lego Day

Batavia, IL -- (Saturday, Jan. 25) Lego trains will be among the displays to see this Saturday at Batavia Public Library. The library's popular Lego Day will be open between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. The Lego city scenes, which will include an elevated train, will be the work of ChiLUG -- Chicago Area Lego Users Group. Young builders will have a chance to make Lego creations of their own at the event, too. There are no admission fees or registration requirements. 

The library is located at 10 S. Batavia Ave., Batavia. 

A past Lego Day 

Oak Lawn: Southland Model Railroad Show

This weekend, go see some trains for a good cause. Harold L. Richards High School in Oak Lawn will play host to the Southland Model Railroad Show this Saturday and Sunday. Proceeds from ticket sales support "music programs, including biennial trips to Disney World and the purchase of equipment and supplies at Richards" For your $6 admission ($5 for seniors and free for kids under 12), you can expect to see the "largest HO layout in Chicago" as well as displays from at least a dozen model railroad clubs. The Will County Model Railroad Association promises to fill the school's gym with 7,000 feet of model railroad layout. Other exhibiting clubs hail from all over Illinois, as well as Indiana and Wisconsin. Other activities include Lego train displays and kids' activities, such as train races. There will even be a ride on train to enjoy. Guests will also be able to shop from numerous vendors on site at the event. 

The Southland Model Railroad Show happens Saturday, Oct. 26 from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. and Sunday, Oct. 27 from 11 a.m. till 3 p.m. H. L. Richards High School is located at 10601 S. Central Ave. Oak Lawn, IL.  

Addison library: LEGO train display

Image courtesy of Idea go
at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

To my mind, a pile of Lego bricks gives a child one of the best playthings possible. I also firmly believe that after that first build of the model pictured on the box, its perfectly okay for the direction booklet to get lost and the sets to get mixed together. Let the creative inspiration for the next structure (or garden or monster or...) come from everything around us.

The Addison Public Library will feature the work of one group of talented Lego enthusiasts this weekend with a display crafted by the Northern Illinois Lego Train Club. The layout will fill the library's meeting room from 9 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 26 and 1 till 4:40 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 27. Addison library card holders can stop by ahead of time for free tickets. The rest of us are welcome to drop in. Library staff will allow people in the room as space allows. Tables in the children's area will provide Lego-building opportunities for youngsters.

If you go to this or any of the NILTC shows, give your group time to fully enjoy the display. These layouts always draw a crowd, so a little patience is always a good thing. Any waiting is worthwhile, though, because this club provides settings that are so much more than a train circling past some buildings. Club members create scenes with details full of humor and pop-culture references. Kids and adults love discovering unexpected characters or places as they take in the presentation.

The NILTC has crisply designed and easy-to-navigate website worth looking at to get a sense of the quality of its work, including videos introducing the group's activities. The site also gives a history of the club and answers common questions about what you'll see at their shows.

Coming up in December, the club will make a return appearance at Cantigny Park in Wheaton on December 14-15. Past shows have attracted more than 10,000. Plan now to bring a toy for Toys for Tots and your parking on the day of the event will be free!

The Addison Public Library is at 4 Friendship Plaza, Addison, IL. More information about this weekend's Lego train show is available in the library's current newsletter. 

Geneva: Good Cents treasure hunting yields a Lego train book gem

Shhh! One of Santa's elves made a great discovery at her favorite kids' store this morning. My shopping goal was to find pants for the kids and my first stop was Good Cents Children in Geneva, always my first stop for kids' clothing. Of course, I had to take a peek at their train section. There is always an adorable endcap with railroad books and toys. Being a resale shop, the available merchandise varies from visit to visit but I can say that no small number of our family's wooden trains and books have come from this store. There are always train toys, books, coloring and sticker books and, sometimes, shirts and hats. Anyway, tucked in an assortment of Thomas the Train picture books I found this gem: 

"Getting Started with Lego Trains"
by Jacob H. McKee 

I snatched it up, flipped through it, and did not set it down. It's as if a book had been written just for my 7-year old. Trains + Lego = Bliss. (The fact that it has one of his very favorite engines on the cover just sealed the deal.) It's over 100 pages of full-color Lego-building principles, step-by-step instructions for building several kinds of train cars and custom track layout ideas. Honestly, I'd like to plop myself down amid my son's box o' Legos and start construction right now!

This particular elf tends to be a bargain hunting sort of gal with no qualms about second-hand Christmas gifts if they are in decent shape and a good match for the giftee. So the plan was to squirrel away my $3 discovery until Dec. 25. Then I took a peek at Amazon.com to see if the book, published in 2003, is still available. The kids in this house aren't the only ones I know who love Lego trains, but it looks like the other engineers on my list won't be getting a copy of this title. Not only is it out of print, it's going for at least $40 used on Amazon and eBay. (Not bad for something with a $20 cover price.) So, it looks like, not only did I find a perfect gift, I found an introductory lesson in investing. Trains: the gift that keeps on giving!

Aurora: Lego Bash

The Fox Valley Park District has a Lego Bash this weekend with train displays among the creations. It will be at Blackberry Farm, which will be also introducing everyone to its new play area this year. Sounds fun!

Upcoming: Blackberry Farm Model Train Show

Now that my oldest son has figure out how to read, there's no sneaking past things he will love. Yesterday he noticed a poster for the upcoming model train show at Blackberry Farm in Aurora. It's coming July 21 and 22, 11 a.m. till 4:30. He also noticed a listing for the Museums at Lisle Station Park -- including a historical train station, caboose,  farmhouse, and blacksmith shop. Assuming the heat lets up, we will see you there!