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EDWARDSBURG — Later this month, children across Cass County will be given the chance to build up their creativity — brick-by-colored brick.

On Jan. 28, the Cass District Library will celebrate National LEGO Day by hosting a Lego Build Challenge at its Edwardsburg Branch, 26745 Church St., Edwardsburg. A passive program taking place from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., participants will be given a challenge card, featuring items such as vehicles, famous people, food, characters, objects and more, that they will have to build within an allotted amount of time. Build challenge participants will be awarded LEGO suckers.

On the same day, the Howard Branch, 2341 Yankee St., Niles, will also celebrate LEGO Day with animal brick model kits, LEGO lollipops and LEGO inspired activity books.

“It will encourage children to be creative and use the tools around them to challenge themselves,” said McKinzie Kistler, marketing and program coordinator at the Cass District Library. “We’ve done challenges like this in the past, and they’ve always gone over really great.”

International LEGO Day is celebrated each year on Jan. 28 to celebrate the day that Danish carpenter Godtfred Kirk Christiansen first submitted his patent for the original LEGO brick in 1958. Since then, LEGOs have grown to be one the most popular toys in the world, allowing children and adults alike to build everything from model buildings to animals to pop culture characters and more.

The library has hosted LEGO Day celebrations in the past, which were well attended, though last year the library was not able to host an event due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Kistler said. This year, she is excited to see the event return and provide a way for Cass County children to expand their creativity.

“LEGOs have always been very popular at the Edwardsburg Branch, so this is just a fun way to celebrate the day,” Kistler said.

Kistler said she hopes this year’s LEGO Day events will be well attended and be a way to reach out to area children and encourage them to visit their library.

“I think it’s important that children know their library is more than just a place to get books — it’s a place to be creative,” Kistler said. “We have so many crafts and programs, and [the LEGO Build Challenge] is just another way to encourage children to get into their libraries and see what resources we can provide them.”