You love that your kids love LEGOs—they make for such imaginative and tactile play! But when those primary-colored, sharp little bricks cover your house like a (very painful) carpet, or your little builder needs new inspiration, it’s time to try one of these awesome, local LEGO activities. video credit: Movies by Kids At MBK Studios’ LEGO Animation Workshops kids 7 & up make all of their LEGO scenes and help their created worlds come to life, literally. Instructors offer kids hands-on help in writing, building (LEGOs provided!), directing, and recording their visual masterpieces. Locations: Los Angeles and Irvine (See website for workshop details.) Kids won’t even know they’re getting an education this summer at Play-Well TEKnologies’ Engineering With LEGO camps and classes. In a curriculum designed by engineers and teachers, kids 5-11 gain engineering and architecture skills using over 20,000 bricks (that’s a lot of bricks). Locations: Various locations around Los Angeles and Orange County, check website for details.
photo credit: Orsolya D. via yelp Mini-Build Events at LEGO Stores On the first Tuesday of every month, at 5 p.m., LEGO stores around LA host a specially-themed “mini-build” event (for example, February’s theme is Space Shuttle). Models used for class are not available for sale, so your 6-14 year old gets not only a free set, but a special, limited edition one! If you can’t get to a build event and want the instructions for what was built, step-by-step instructions are posted here. Parent tip: These lines get long. Like really, really long. (Because, free LEGOs, duh.) So make sure you arrive early, with snacks and something to keep them occupied while they wait. Locations: Glendale, Canoga Park, Anaheim and Mission Viejo Brick-building enthusiasts turning 4-10 will think “everything is awesome” when you arrange to have Play Party bring LEGO-mania to their next birthday party. And you’ll think it’s awesome that they do all the work. Play Party brings four play stations (more for groups bigger than 20), tables and chairs, they oversee the activities and then swoop it all out like a magic party fairy.
Locations: They come to you! photo credit: Doug Kline via flickr Discovery Cube OC LEGO Exhibit From January 17 to May 10, 2015, check out the LEGO Travel Exhibit at Discovery Cube OC. At this hands-on event kids can build vehicles, view model sculptures by Master Builders on display for inspiration (including a kid-size LEGO racecar!), and create virtual LEGO vehicles that can move through various terrains. It’s an afternoon in LEGO paradise. Location: 2500 N. Main St., Santa Ana LEGO at the Library At participating Los Angeles public libraries, join other LEGO lovers for free Game Days (which include LEGOs plus other board games to enjoy as a family), or the LEGOs-only Bricks 4 Fun, Block Parties and Brick Building Clubs, where kids 2-11 can build to their heart’s content using the library’s collection. DUPLO are often offered for the youngest builders. Location: These activities are offered at multiple locations, check with your local branch or online to find the participating library nearest you.
LEGO Mindstorms Robotics Class LEGO Mindstorms, if you haven’t heard of it yet, is a brand of LEGO that you can assemble and then program to do really cool stuff like go over all kinds of terrain or wrestle. It’s super expensive to buy (these bots are really complex!) so the best way to try them out is to take a Mindstorms class from a seasoned facility like Rolling Robots or Bricks 4 Kidz. At Rolling Robots, ages 4-14 can enroll in their “Bots with Brains” classes that are offered mid-day for homeschoolers, as well as afterschool and on weekends. Bricks 4 Kidz offers preschool and afterschool programs for 3-13 year-olds. Locations: Los Angeles, Glendale and Rolling Hills Estates Locations: Brentwood, Hacienda Heights, Huntington Beach, Eagle Rock, South Pasadena, Sherman Oaks, Thousand Oaks This wouldn’t be a complete list of SoCal LEGO fun without mentioning Legoland, which is easy driving distance away in Carlsbad. Your family will ooh and ahh over the ever-growing and changing LEGO village featuring full, often animated replicas of scenes and characters from Star Wars to Washington DC to Las Vegas.
Kids (especially those under 10) love the many age-appropriate LEGO-themed rides, and in the summer everyone enjoys getting wet at the water park. Location: 1 LEGOLAND Dr., Carlsbad Read our in-depth tips about visiting the Legends of Chima Waterpark or staying at the Legoland Hotel. Have we missed any spots that thrill your little LEGO-Maniac? ‘Lethal Weapon’ Renewed For Season 2 By Fox Here is why getting only a partial back order is not necessarily a death sentence for a freshman series. Fox has given an early renewal to its action comedy-drama Lethal Weapon. Lethal Weapon, from Matt Miller, Warner Bros TV and Lin Pictures, got off to an OK ratings start in the fall after better than [...]Please tell us about your feature-film debut in ‘Lego Batman Movie’ … ON ONE QUESTION, Siri was proving as elusive as a Gotham villain. If you’ve listened carefully in “The Lego Batman Movie,” or simply saw the credits roll, you know firsthand that the Apple personal assistant has a featured role in the top box-office film in the land.
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