Imagination is only limit on kids' Lego creations

Lego club Renee Sauer / Staff Lego lovers: Roman Chernobelskiy, David Kha, Mikhail Chernobelskiy and Alex Chernobelskiy are part of the Midtown Lego Club. * For more information about the Midtown Lego Club, call project director David Kha at 323-8278.

Most people see Legos - those colorful plastic building blocks - as the stuff of child's play.

But Roman Chernobelskiy sees them as an opportunity to educate.

Roman - who emigrated with his family from Russia in October 2000 - sees potential for teaching kids a variety of skills.

"It's to stimulate creativity," he said in halting English. "It's fun."

Roman and his father, Mikhail, along with David Kha, who came here from Vietnam in 1971, have formed the Midtown Lego Club, which currently involves about 15 children ages 3 to 10.

"It's a method of teaching kids to get involved," explained Kha, a computer consultant and former French teacher. "It helps kids to learn how to put things together, to use their imagination."

It also has the potential to enrich kids' lives, he said. The club and its activities "tell them they can do something more exciting than go to the mall."

Working with snap-together Legos teaches children patience and problem-solving skills and helps them figure out how objects work. The process also seems to improve kids' hand-eye coordination, Kha said.

Children who get involved in the Lego club get help in building a variety of things, from
traditional cars and houses to moving robots and air pressure- driven cranes.

For the latter, kids use high-tech Legos that include computer components.

"You can build all kinds of things," Roman said. "It's up to your imagination. You can build anything you want."

The club is supported by the Midtown Neighborhood Association, which also supports another project: creating a Midtown library and learning center.

Planning for the center began in 1995, and it is expected to be operational by the end of 2003, Kha said.

That's for the future. On Sunday, Tucsonans can see what kids can build today from plastic Lego pieces. Club members will display their creations at Bookman's Used Books Music & Software, 6230 E. Speedway, starting at 4 p.m.

Joining the club is free. The only requirement: Kids must teach each other the skills that they have already mastered.

"If you learn something," said Kha, "you must pass it on to the next one."

* Contact reporter Bryn Bailer at 573-4119 or via e-mail at bbailer@azstarnet.com.

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