Families build cardboard forts at Wauconda library

Creativity reigned Monday night as the Wauconda Area Library held its second annual fort building contest.

Eight families participated in the event.

The library provided cardboard and duct tape for basic building, but participants were encouraged to bring fabric, stickers and other supplies from home to make their fortifications stand out.

First-, second- and third-place trophies were awarded with judges looking at rules compliance, overall construction and original design. Ice cream gift cards were also given to the winners.

Patty Gmitrovic, the programming coordinator for the library's Kid City department, called the event a fun, hands-on building activity that focused on teamwork and engineering.

It also got kids and parents to unplug from our digitally dependent world, Gmitrovic said.