Sailors Volunteer for LEGO Shipbuilding Event

Photo By Petty Officer 1st Class Jonathan Clay | 190202-N-UX013-1033 NORFOLK (Feb. 2, 2019) Capt. Corey Keniston, commanding officer of the Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Gettysburg (CG 64), left, helps an event attendee build a LEGO ship model of the Gettysburg during the 8th Annual LEGO Brick by Brick Shipbuilding Event at Hampton Roads Naval Museum. LEGO Brick by Brick Shipbuilding is a free event for the community hosted by Hampton Roads Naval Museum and provides the opportunity to learn about naval history and heritage in fun, creative and engaging environment. (U.S Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Jonathan Clay/Released)  

NORFOLK, VA, UNITED STATES

02.02.2019

Story by Petty Officer 2nd Class Jonathan Clay  

Navy Public Affairs Support Element East - (Active)

NORFOLK, Va.– Sailors from various Navy commands in the Hampton Roads area volunteered during the 8th Annual LEGO Brick by Brick Shipbuilding event, Feb. 2, at the Hampton Roads Naval Museum.

LEGO Brick by Brick Shipbuilding is a free event, open to the community and held annually by the museum to encourage youth to learn about the Navy and shipbuilding in fun fashion.

More than 110 Sailors from 14 commands helped organize the event, provide information to visitors and show kids how to build Lego models based on both historic and present-day Navy ships.

“I’m proud to do it, and it’s been a lot of fun to watch and play with the children,” said Capt. Corey Keniston, commanding officer of Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Gettysburg (CG 64). “Having the children come here to learn and build with Legos, using their minds to understand how the pieces go together, the engineering, and tying that together with the naval culture of the area has just been great.”

Keniston, who attended the event with his son in previous years, thought it would be fun for them to work as volunteers, and this year he was given the chance to help children build a model of his own ship.

“It was a no-brainer,” said Keniston. “When I heard there is an opportunity to help at the table where children are building USS Gettysburg, I couldn’t have passed it up.”

The event has grown significantly since its beginning and this year’s attendance reached a total of 5,272 visitors.

“Our first year we had about 800 people attend and it has grown exponentially since then,” said Laura Orr, director of education for the museum. 

Orr said the event started as an idea to teach kids about the Navy and shipbuilding, and emphasizes the learning principles of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) with Lego shipbuilding, robotics and programming.

“The kids are reading graphs to build the ships, even if they don’t know they are reading graphs, and they are also learning how shipbuilding works, even if they don’t know realize it,” said Orr. “They are still learning as they are playing with Legos. It’s inherent in what they’re doing.”

The event’s growing popularity continues to bring visitors, both new and returning, from all around the Hampton Roads region to learn and have fun.

“We’re here almost every year; four years in a row,” said Neno Nenov as he sat with his son building a Lego navy ship. “It’s an event we’ve anticipated and there was no way we were going to miss it.”

Hampton Roads Naval Museum is one of 10 officially operated U.S. Navy museums reporting to the Naval History and Heritage Command. The museum celebratesthe long history of the U.S. Navy in the Hampton Roads region of Virginia and is located in downtown Norfolk.

For more information please visit  https://www.facebook.com/HRNavalMuseum/

• Date Taken: 02.02.2019
• Date Posted: 02.04.2019 16:20
• Story ID: 309470
• Location: NORFOLK, VA, US