Imagine a train traveling through the countryside. It whizzes past a flock of sheep grazing on a hill, a field of flowers with a variety of blooms, and a farmer who waves a quiet hello. As our train approaches a tunnel, the landscape begins to change. All of a sudden, we’re speeding through an ultra-modern, futuristic city scene. What’s that hovering above us in the sky? Is that Batman… riding a dragon? Where else could a scenario like this come to life but through the wonderful world of LEGO® bricks? The Aurora Public Library District and the Northern Illinois LEGO® Train Club are excited to bring this creativity to the Santori Library Saturday, March 21 and Sunday, March 22! This magical display is ideal for visitors and LEGO brick lovers both young and young at heart.
The Northern Illinois LEGO Train Club (NILTC) is a group of LEGO building enthusiasts who design, build, and share their creations with the public. Their displays have been featured at the Illinois Railway Museum, Cantigny Park, Morton Arboretum, and numerous libraries in the area. “The NILTC is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year,” said member Mark Anderson. “What started as a few friends building LEGO trains has blossomed into a Recognized LEGO User Group and a non-profit that puts on shows at venues all throughout northern Illinois.” APLD is thrilled to bring this unique, high-quality experience to Aurora for our community to enjoy.
The Santori Library Atrium is the perfect location to accommodate the scale of this expansive exhibit, consisting of hundreds of thousands of LEGO pieces. As visitors take in the display, they’ll notice the whimsy and humor throughout. NILTC members are encouraged to build in whatever style they prefer, creating some fantastically funny scenes brought together by the moving train and track. “I really love LEGO humor and creativity!” said event and program coordinator, Ali. “It’s all about clever details, puns, pop culture references, and much more.” If you have questions about what you’re seeing, you can ask the builders themselves, who will be onsite enjoying the fun, too!
Beyond the upcoming display, APLD will have additional LEGO-themed opportunities for young builders. During our Service Saturday program, Saturday, April 11, teen volunteers will help sort, clean, and package used LEGO bricks into new kits for distribution through Project ReBrick. Project ReBrick is a non-profit student initiative started by Metea Valley students whose mission is to “reduce waste, spread joy, and inspire imagination”, one LEGO kit at a time (https://officialprojectrebrick.my.canva.site). For younger builders, our LEGO Club program series meets once a month at West Branch. Children can use their imaginations and get creative with library owned LEGO bricks while having fun with their peers. Who knows, maybe one day they’ll join NILTC and return to the library with their LEGO creations.
The LEGO Train Show at Santori Library will be on display Saturday, March 21 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday, March 22 from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.. In addition to seeing the countless LEGO bricks, everyone who visits can enter a prize drawing to win a LEGO set of their own. We hope this display inspires viewers to be creative and build connections, one brick at a time! For more information, please visit www.aurorapubliclibrary.org/events or contact the library at 630-264-4117.
Andrea Tiberi is the communications coordinator for the Aurora Public Library District.