Legos the building blocks for future career

Engineer in the making, Brycen Lavaud, 9, has been showcasing his building projects of the Lego variety in the Baldwin Public Library’s Children’s Display Case during March. The Children’s Display Case is open to all Baldwin kids who have a personal collection, where they can show off their personal items to the public for an entire month.

Lavaud chose his prized Lego collection to share with the public, unveiling the dozen Lego sets at a ribbon-cutting ceremony his mother Shani Challenor orchestrated, 25-inch scissors included. Saying that she’s, “Saved the scissors, so when he opens his own business, he can use the same scissor.”

Featuring a dozen hand-crafted sets, including scenes and figures from Marvel movies, Nintendo video games and a useable chess set, Lavaud was initially nervous to show the Baldwin community his hard work. But now he feels seen by the community receiving his formerly private collection, “It feels amazing because everyone can [now] see my hard work,” he said.

What he likes the most about the building process itself is, “Completing the Legos because you can see the finished product.” Challenor added, “He never quits,” when he hits roadblocks building and has to take the pieces apart to rebuild.

Expressing himself through the Lego sets, he hopes to one day be an engineer similar to those who design the Lego models, designing his own projects on a larger scale. Of the Legos on display, he and his mom share a favorite: the Nintendo DS, which they both bond over, sharing the experience of playing games on the handheld console. 

Tinkering at home, he does more than his hobby of building Legos, helping his mom if she orders something that needs assembly, assisting if the television isn’t working, and generally helping problem solve. “He can see the end product and the steps it takes to get there,” Challenor said, stating that, “He never asks me for help...he’s completely independent.”

Pre-Covid, the family visited the library all the time, Lavaud saying he loves “all the books” the most. On one trip he and his family noticed the sign saying kids are encouraged to display their collections. They took an immediate interest; however, it wouldn’t be for another year when the library reopened after Covid restrictions that they would be able to show off the Legos. Challenor said the library kept up with the request over the turbulent year, asking them early in 2022 if they were still interested and would like to pick a month for an upcoming display.

Requesting the month of March because it’s one of the longest months, Lavaud went to work building three more Lego sets two weeks in advance- planning and laboring to make the exhibit show only his best creations. Later arranging them so they complement each other in the display case.

Challenor enjoyed the collaboration with the library in getting the display together, “They were so supportive and so nice to us, it was a really amazing experience, it really was, I’m so happy to be a part of the Baldwin community.” Moving to Baldwin four years ago from Queens, the family feels accepted by the community as they continue to adapt.

Plaza Elementary School, where Lavaud attends, has helped him absorb into the community and develop his academic skills year after year. “All the teachers at Plaza are amazing, every year it’s like he has a new amazing teacher and for me as an educator and say that… They understand him and his personality,” Challenor beamed, stating Lavaud also values his education. This year he’s happy to have Michael Smyth as his teacher, enjoying the representation of a male teacher and the freedom to read his favorite Captain Underpants books.

Martha L. Garvey, the Head of Children’s Services, says interested families can, “Come in any time we’re open, fill out a form, and they’ll be notified ahead of time as to their scheduled month… We also include their names in our monthly newsletter, the Piper.”