A new club has graced the halls of Delbarton. It is a unique and revolutionary club, one that will no doubt go down in Delbarton history:  the LEGO Club! Founder JP Smart encapsulated the essence of the LEGO club when he said, “this club doesn’t just connect bricks, it connects human beings.”

It all started one Saturday evening when five respectable Delbarton gentlemen gathered. One thing led to another, and the discussion turned towards LEGOs. They realized that they all had an interest in LEGO, and had old sets lying around collecting dust. That’s when a stroke of genius came to them: the Delbarton LEGO Club. Brainstorming immediately followed, and that Monday, the group went to Brother Finnbar with their proposal and asked him to be the club’s faculty moderator. Brother Finnbar, a LEGO enthusiast himself, loved the idea and directed the gentlemen towards Mr. Reubling. Connor Krauetler, a club founder, explained, “since the approval process was so strenuous, it made us think about what we wanted for the club and what activities we wanted to focus on.” After an intense application and approval process, the club was approved, and a Schoology page was created. 

Now the LEGO Club is revolutionary because it doesn’t require a lot of hands-on participation or time commitment. The club centers largely around two discussion posts on Schoology: one to showcase personal LEGO creations, and the other to facilitate LEGO trades.  These members have been active in these discussions regarding worlds that they designed, and engaging in trades with other club members.

The LEGO Club’s first meeting took place on January 14 in the Media Lab. Encouraged by donuts and after an invocation by Brother Finnbar, members met to share their collections, do some LEGO research, and trade their LEGOs. Observers estimate 20-30 students attended the meeting. One founder who attended the meeting, Brandon Low, said “It was great to meet in person” and that “it’s going to be the start of something great. Great projects down the road.” 

In the future, the club administration, which includes the five original founders, hopes to expand the reach of the club. Membership keeps increasing and word is quickly spreading throughout the school community. “Partner meetings” with other clubs are being discussed, and LEGO Club merchandise is in the works as well. Brian Boler, yet another LEGO Club founder, summed up the club’s vision when he said  “this club was the Nixon to China moment this school needed.”