Charleston Carnegie Public Library hosts a monthly Lego Club, which meets for the next time July 15.

Emily Tomshack, the staff member currently in charge of the Lego Club, said around 15 children come to the monthly club meetings on average.

The library provides all Legos used during the meetings.

“We have three giant tubs of Legos and we dump them out on the floor,” Tomshack said. “They have over an hour to create whatever they want.”

She said she sees a lot of neat creations in the form of things pirate ships and dinosaurs.

There have been prompts on what to build each club meeting in the past. Tomshack said the person in charge before her started providing prompts for the children this past spring.

Her predecessor began using prompts to inspire different constructions because she was seeing the same Lego builds from month to month.

“There’s a lot of boys because boys like Legos,” Tomshack said. “But there was a family that had two girls and they made Rapunzel’s tower.”

She said she believes the history of the club has been a “free-for-all Lego time.”

Tomshack said she was not able to create prompts for the most recent club meetings because of time restrictions as she was just put in charge of the Lego club in June.

“It has been a monthly club for at least the last six or 12 months,” Tomshack said. “I took it over last month.”

She said she runs two other programs which she has to divide her time for along with the Lego Club.

The free program is open to the public and there is no need for a library card.

The club is intended for children from kindergarten through eighth grade, although children under 8 years old are asked to bring a parent.

Builders are given the last half hour for “Show and Tell” where they can display what they made with their allotted time as well as check out the other creations.

“Its pretty good,” Tomshack said. “The kids have a good time with it.”

The July 15 meeting starts at 4 p.m. and lasts until 5:30 p.m. in Rotary Room A.

Jehad Abbed can be reached at 581-2812 or Jaabbed@eiu.edu