When Ara Bonsignore received his first LEGO kit at the age of five, a passion was sparked. He built the entire project in under an hour and loved it. Since that time, Ara, now 12, has built many projects including original creations and even replicas of military vehicles from WWII and the Cold War, such as the Sherman Tank. Over time he has become an expert LEGO builder and was recently inspired to build a Lego model of the Barrington Area Library where his Mom, Amy Bonsignore, works.
It took Ara one month to build the Barrington Library model and he worked on it almost two hours a day after school and over Christmas Break. Ara took special care to pay attention to every detail and it’s evident in the finished project. Amy says, “I am amazed by his dedication, and I watch in awe. It’s the best feeling in the world to see the joy on Ara’s face.” As with any construction project, Ara had a building budget for his Lego version and said, “keeping the building under the $100 budget was the biggest challenge. Sometimes I couldn’t use the pieces I wanted to.”
Ara, who is homeschooled, hosts a LEGO Club at his house to grow community and inspiration. The LEGO Club meets once a month and each session has a new theme. Ara says, “At LEGO club, everyone shows up with their creation and we help each other with new ideas.” Ara has no signs of slowing down with this passion and said that he has a goal of being a member of the Adult Fans of LEGO (AFOL) organization when he grows older.
Ara will be the “Expert in Residence” at the library from 1 to 3 p.m. on Sunday, February 21st, 2016 to answer questions about his design, which he built for the library’s month-long Barrington Creates campaign. He’s sure to inspire many young people with his passion and dedication.
The library is hosting Barrington Creates to give talented makers, entrepreneurs and artistic spirits of all ages an opportunity to let their creativity shine. The library has a number of exciting upcoming events planned through the end of February, including a Creator Fair featuring a wide variety of tech, arts, and crafts projects made by both kids and adults. That’s coming up from 1:30 to 4:30 on Sunday, February 28th.
To learn more about Barrington Creates and see the library’s schedule of upcoming events, visit BarringtonAreaLibrary.org.