LEGO exhibit urges participants to use their imaginations

The attraction this weekend at the St. Charles Public Library is billed as a LEGO train exhibit, but it's more of an exhibition.

The display is a World's Fair for LEGO fans. It's a testament to the imagination and creativity of a handful of people in a small club who believe that building with LEGOs does not have to involve following the manufacturer's directions.

The exhibit continues from noon to 5 p.m. today.

"We do custom LEGO creations, or mocs, which in LEGO talk stands for 'my own creation,'" said Brian Williams of Crystal Lake.

Williams is a member of the Northern Illinois Lego Train Club, and known as its Indiana Jones guru. He and other members of the club display their exhibit about eight times a year. Williams said the exhibit contains tens of thousands -- perhaps hundreds of thousands -- of LEGO pieces. It takes about 10 hours to set up.

The display uses trains as a connecting factor to bring together the various parts, including scenes from "Jurassic Park," "Star Wars" and Indiana Jones. There also is a small town and downtown Chicago, complete with the Sears Tower. Little LEGO people are everywhere.

Williams' Indiana Jones contribution depicts a specific scene from "Raiders of the Lost Ark." The real movie scene is projected onto a small LEGO screen.

"It's fantastic," said Barbara Grozis of St. Charles. She was with her husband, Jim, and grandchildren Jordan, 10 and Chloe, 7 of Montgomery. "My husband and grandchildren saw it at Cantigny (in Winfield) in December, but this is the first time for me."

"It's awesome," said Jordan, who received a "Star Wars" LEGO set for Christmas. "I wish I had room in my basement for this."

"We always get a tremendous response," said club president Jamie LeBlanc of Virgil. "The kids are amazed because they haven't seen LEGOs on this scale. We let our members build LEGOs in whatever genre they wish. We want them to continue to be creative."

"Our mission is to entertain and to promote creativity among families," Williams said. "You don't have to build what you see on the box. You can let your imagination flow."

Visit www.niltc.org for information.