SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — It’s never too early to present children with a potential career path. That’s why some future builders gathered at the Habitat for Humanity ReStore building Saturday morning to show off their Lego skills.
Around 50 kids from kindergarten to fifth grade put on their hard hats as they competed against each other to see who could complete the most impressive project.
“They’re just normal Legos, but we do limit them to having certain sizes, so they only get to four, six and eight-peg Legos,” National Association of Women in Construction committee chair Karen Krietlow said.
The kids are given 100 Legos and 40 minutes to build something construction-related and just let their creativity run wild.
Each participant also had three vouchers to purchase other materials. Chase Cosand built a truck with Legos, tinfoil and string.
Jordan: “Why do you like building with Legos so much?”
Chase: “Because my dad does construction.”
Evelyn Urban did something a little different. She made a crane.
“It was kind of complicated because I kind of had to figure out how to move the thing up and down at the end, but I got it,” Urban said.
While the projects were under construction, some experts paid them a visit.
“The judges walk around while they’re building, and they have a questionnaire to fill out, and they ask the kids questions about their project, have the kids explain their project because sometimes, the projects don’t look the way the kids explain it. The oral part of the judging is very big for the judges,” Krietlow said.
Once the competition was over, awards were given to the best build in each grade as well as one overall winner. Organizers hope days like Saturday can inspire the next generation of construction workers.
“We have a shortage of trade workers, which everyone does right now, but the younger you get to the kids and expose them to the industry, the more likely they’ll be to actually want to be involved in the industry when they get into their career,” Krietlow said.
“I had fun, and I like building Legos, so I like doing this,” Cosand said.
The competition was organized by the National Association of Women in Construction. To learn more about the Sioux Falls chapter, click here.
