I LUG NY (est. 2010) is an adult (18+) Recognized LEGO User Group made up of independent artists and hobbyists who live in the New York tri-state area. We are part of the LEGO Ambassador Network.
We hold monthly member meetings in rotating locations around the greater metropolitan area. At meetings, members talk LEGO, compete in small build competitions, buy/sell/trade, and plan collaborative LEGO projects.
Our mission is to share our love of building and inspire creativity in both kids and adults alike. We engage with the public through elaborate LEGO displays and interactive workshops at libraries, museums, conventions, and other cultural institutions. We have also organized multiple donations of small LEGO sets to local children’s hospitals.
DISPLAYS
We put on large group displays whenever we can. If you’re interested in collaborating with us to host a display or event, send us an e-mail (contact@ilugny.org)! We are always looking for venues to display, interact with the public, and share our love of creative building!
Our average display consists of a large collaborative layout (4+ banquet tables) featuring LEGO creations our members have designed, built and combined together using a modular standard.
Here’s an example:
Our members build in a variety of themes including:
- Architecture
- City/Town
- Great Ball Contraption
- Fantasy/Medieval
- Military
- Mindstorms®
- Mosaics
- Pop Culture
- Post-Apocalyptic
- Sci-fi/Space
- Sculpture
- Stop-Motion Animation
- Trains
The exact display we set up and the activities we can do are subject to change depending on availability. None of us do this professionally. It is a labor of love we devote our spare time to. We’re happy to take requests, but we cannot guarantee a display will include any or all of these themes.
WORKSHOPS
We have also held classes and workshops for kids to teach them how to build (and sometimes animate) with LEGO, inspire them with creative challenges, and other activities to inspire creativity.
Examples of past workshops:
- Downhill Derby (build a custom car and race it, then take it home!)
- Free-Build Workshop (guided challenges or unguided building using bins of 2×4 bricks or loose mixed brick)
- Mini-Build Challenge (build-and-take event where kids build a mini kit based on our guided instruction)
- Animation (we teach the basics of stop-motion animation and post the results to YouTube!)
If you have an idea for a workshop, let us know and we’ll try to make it happen!
More links: