For the ninth year in a row, LEGO has been named the most valuable toy company in the world according to Statista.com. The company holds a market value of $7.44 billion. Originally from Denmark, LEGOs are quite popular among children in the USA, with over 51% of children, 10-19 saying they play with them according to Statista.com.
Due to its popularity, a convention is held all across the country. The Brick Convention is a fan-made convention that happens every year in many cities across the U.S. according to BrickConvetion.com.
“Brick Convention is a great day for families, collectors, adult builders, and every other kind of LEGO fan, with lots to see and do including large-scale displays, activities, traders selling loose bricks, new LEGO sets, retired LEGO sets, mini-figures and accessories plus dedicated building areas,” the Convention’s official website said.
St. Louis will host the convention Aug. 3-4, at the Greensfelder Recreation Complex which was the same place it occurred last year.
Though freshman Everett Haney has never been to the convention, he plans to attend this year.
“The convention sounds like fun, so I will probably go,” Haney said.
Haney has been playing with LEGOs since the age of four and became interested in its creativity and endless possibilities.
“I would say what sparked an interest in them for me was just the amount of creativity you have. Everything that you can do with them is really fun. My favorite [set] is The Daily Bugle because I am a huge Spiderman fan and there are so many cool details that are hidden for you to discover in the set,” Haney said.
Besides being fun, Haney said LEGOs have helped him in many other aspects of life such as assisting his younger brother’s robotics team. The team competes in the FIRST LEGO League, so Haney was able to help through his knowledge and experience with LEGOs.
“I helped them program stuff because they [work with] LEGO robots. So that was very fun,” Haney said.
Haney has built some more difficult sets over the years, including the LEGO Technic McLaren Senna GTR set.
“It was the first ever Technic set that I built. So that was very challenging for me because all the pieces are very intricate in how they connect,” Haney said.
Even though Technic car sets are difficult to build for some, junior Dylan Koch enjoys collecting them.
“My favorite set I’ve ever built was the Lamborghini Sian. All of the components to make it functional always make me want to build another set,” Koch said.
The Sian was also the hardest set Koch had ever built. A particular piece that came up multiple times caused him many problems when building the car.
“The satisfaction of finishing that car was huge,” he said.
Koch became interested in LEGOs at a very young age though unlike Haney, it wasn’t the creative side of LEGOs that caught his eye at first.
“The main aspect of LEGOs that grabbed my attention was the way they felt and sounded when you put them together. Something about the snapping sound is satisfying,” Koch said.
He believes that LEGOs gave not only him but everyone a memorable childhood and are one of the best gifts someone could receive.
“I speak for everyone when I say LEGOs impacted me by giving me a childhood. No matter if you were born in the 80s or 2010s, if you got a set for your birthday or Christmas, it was one the best gifts you could receive,” Koch said.
Koch also said that the best part about LEGOs is that you have creative freedom and there are near-infinite things you can build with the pieces.
“I think one of the coolest things about LEGOs is that if you don’t like to build by instructions, then you could make anything you want with them. I see custom kits all the time online, people find ways to make different stuff with parts in ways most people could never think of,” Koch said.
Despite the great memories, as Koch has gotten older, he has stopped playing with LEGOs.
“I honestly don’t play with LEGOs anymore. Sure, as a model car collector, if I see a set that really speaks to me, I’ll buy it, but after I build it, it’ll be going on a shelf to look at,” Koch said.
Koch said LEGOs are a childhood staple for many kids, and while teens like himself stop playing with them as they get older, the impact of the toy is still present.
The Brick Convention allows LEGO fans from all across America to gather and enjoy this childhood pleasure.
