This year was Noah and Anna's second year to participate in Nashville Public Library's Lego Contest. Last year, they submitted their own entries in separate grade categories. This year, they collaborated on one entry they poured their hearts into to create and perfect over the course of a couple weeks. It is an impressive Lego hotel ... aptly titled, Legotel. ;) And it is entered in the grade level of the oldest child of the team, so 5-7th grade level this go round.
Anna's favorite part is the fourth floor - which is the fancy level, she says. She says it costs a lot for minifigs to stay there when they play with it. It's one giant room, so basically it's the penthouse. ;) Noah's favorite part is the working elevator. I particularly like all the windows allowing views into all the floors, the parking lot, and the rooftop hot tub with its bubbles feature. Josh's favorite part is how it has multiple levels that they can take off and use separately.
They dropped off on Saturday morning.
They both felt hopeful after seeing the competition. We held our breaths for the judging today. Ceremony was at 3:00.
Alas, Legotel got no awards. Nor did Noah or Anna win any raffles. They feel a little robbed. Ha! I agree they were robbed. What can ya do? Who knows what made judges tend toward some of the builds they picked? We walked away thinking that next year the kids should pick a topic that is more flashy/catchy and build it with more bold display. Throw in a humorous title, too! Josh surmises that while their hotel is solid and well-built and fully developed in details and completion and quality, it is still a pretty straightforward theme and therefore less sensational? Now that I see what creations did get awards or superlative awards, I have to agree. They weren't as good of builds as Legotel, but they had appeal of their own. We will play to the audience next time. Noah is annoyed and doesn't wanna bother next time. We'll see. ;) Anna was super frustrated and wanted to indulge in a fit. I just laughed and reminded her that it's not a big deal really. And that really, she WAS robbed, so the feeling was legit, but to be controlled nonetheless. Ha! She has a ferocious determination about her next year's build now. Get it, girl!
Josh and I think the kids did excellent work and, were the judging not so random and fickle, would have easily won something elsewise and so we awarded them each $15 to spend at the Lego Store. So all is not lost. And of course, they have this killer hotel to play with still. Proud of their collaboration!
Some examples of things that did win a place or a superlative that we liked as well, from different age brackets...
See ya in 2020, NPL Lego Contest! And we'll have a Lasa build, too. So there!
2 comments:
Yeah, some of those other entries were impressive. BUT, did those judges take into account that Legotel had great detail, took many, many hours, and that it was put together by a sibling duo and they both lived through it? That right there is worthy of some sort of acknowledgment and prize!!
I declared on the way home that an actual list of their judging criterion would save a lot of dashed hopes after so much work, for sure! Because honestly, one superlative award was given to a sidewalk and door leading up to a blank baseplate. EMPTY! The title was, Lost Civilization. Funny, yes. Lego work, hardly. C'mon now. Even the superlative awards were random ... often made up to match a single creation so as to feature it in the ceremony. Eh ... what can you do? Take notes and play to the crowd if it's worth it to you next year.
And yes, thank you! They did do work worthy of acknowledgement, we felt. They are at Lego Store with Josh right now, spending their $15 homegrown prizes and some of their own money.
A friend texted last night that when they were there voting on Saturday, their son (a friend of Noah's) voted for Legotel, not even knowing it was Noah/Anna's. That was fun feedback! Made me remind the kids that their work did get noticed. Would be nice to know how many votes they DID get, even if not the most votes.
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