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Charles Miles and his daughter Madison Miles check out some of the entries for the Pelham library’s LEGO Building Competition. The creation Madison Miles is looking at won first place in the 11 years and up age division. (Reporter photo/Briana Harris)

PELHAM – About 20 children participated in one of three age divisions for Pelham Public Library’s annual LEGO Building Competition on Saturday, July 14.

Children’s Librarian Rebecca Burchfield said children were not allowed to use LEGO kits but were instead challenged to use LEGO bricks to build their own creations with minimal involvement from their parents. Participants were divided into age groups – 6 years and under, 7-10 year olds and 11 years and up.

In each category, first place and honorable mention winners were named. A Librarian’s Choice winner was also named.

Burchfield said members of a group called Adult Fan of LEGOs from the Magic City LEGO Users Group judged the entries.

“The judges had a difficult time selecting winners,” Burchfield said. “They said it wasn’t easy to pick because there were so many good entries.”

David Schmid, first place winner in the 11 years and up division, said his creation, “The Pelham Library,” took two to three months to complete.

Schmid’s creation depicted the interior of the Pelham library – complete with small LEGO people – and what a normal day inside the library looks like.

Schmid, whose twin brother Paul also participated in the competition, said his goal was to win Librarian’s Choice, so he was really shocked when he won first place in his age group.

“My brother won first place the last two years and I thought that he would probably win again this year, so I tried to make something that I thought would win Librarian’s Choice instead,” Schmid said.

Tricia Schmid, David and Paul Schmid’s mother, said her sons began building LEGO creations when they were children and stuck with it as they got older. Paul Schmid built a remote controlled replica of a car called a Pagani Zonda Cinque, a vehicle that he described as an “Italian super car.”

“David likes to build scenes and tell stories, whereas Paul likes to build more technical things,” Tricia Schmid said.

The winners in each age division were:

6 years and under
Winner: “Outer Windmill” by Keller Brownell
Honorable Mention: “Greenhouse” by Sophie Davis

7-10 year olds
Winner: “Dream Barn” by Addison Morris
Honorable Mention: “Wizard Cage” by Justin Thomas

11 years and up
Winner: “The Pelham Library” by David Schmid
Honorable Mention: “A Day on Hoth” by Courtney Cook

Librarian’s Choice
“Dream House” by Gavin Cook

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