You could say Eli Jankowski, 12, lives and breathes LEGOS.
“When I come home from school I play with LEGOS, when I’m on my lunch break, I play with LEGOS. When I wake up before school, I play with LEGOS.”
In fact, his mother, Katarina Walker says he began his obsession very young.
“He started playing with LEGOS when he was 3 years old. He already having the fine motor skills to start playing with them. He was already connecting the sets on his own. He barely needed my help,” she recalled.
This year, Eli entered a competition to have his creations displayed at LEGOLAND Discovery Center Chicago in Schaumburg.
“We didn’t know it was a competition. He entered and won. I was working from home and I almost fell out of my seat when I learned he won the competition.” said Walker.
The first competition required Eli to build anything he wanted in ten minutes. The second part of the competition was a build that required inspiration of where you live and where you come from.
Eli’s creation named "Windy City Deep Dish" features some of Chicago's favorite foods and landmarks.
“It’s split into three parts. A Chicago style hot dog cart, the Bean with people surrounding it holding hot dogs and a Chicago deep dish pizza with landmarks of Illinois as toppings on a map of Illinois.” he said.
The seventh grader's creation is currently on display at LEGOLAND Discovery center in Schaumburg.
Next, he’ll vie for the first ever title of Global Mini Master Model Builder and a chance to have his work displayed at the Home of the Brick, LEGO® House, in Billund, Denmark later this year.
“To have my builds being displayed in Denmark when LEGO was born is a big achievement. It’s a dream come true.” he smiled.
Walker say her son’s hobby has done a lot for his confidence and creativity.
“It teaches imagination and creativity and confidence. It’s been a whirlwind for us.” She said.
“My parents brought me to LEGOLAND when I was 8 and I haven’t seen them since, “ joked LEGOLAND Discovery Center Chicago’s Master Model Builder, Jon Paparella, who created MINILAND which has Chicago’s cityscape created out of more than 1.5 million LEGO bricks.
“I built most of these models. I even created a pride month parade on Chicago’s Michigan Avenue for June. I added the LEGO village People. It’s the Y-L-C-A instead of the Y-M-C-A!” he smiled. “We’re just so proud to have Eli representing us.”
“When he was four he said he wanted to be a master builder so this is a dream come true. It feels incredible.” Said Walker.
“What’s it like to be called a mini master builder? It’s really cool. I recommend it,” he smiled.
Eli’s Chicago build will be on display at LEGOLAND Discovery Center Chicago through Sunday, June 30th. His creation will be judged against other builds from Mini Master Model Builders across the globe from all twenty-seven LEGOLAND Discovery Centers and LEGO Discovery. The winner will be announced in the Fall.
