First Posted: 6/24/2014

At the Dietrich Theater, children not only play with Legos, but they also use them in an even more creative way. Rand Whipple, instructor of the Box of Light Theater in Bloomsburg, is currently teaching a workshop class called Lego Maniacs Camp at the Peg Fassett Studio, which is next to the Dietrich Theater in Tunkhannock.

The class runs from June 23-27 from 10 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Some of the Legos once belonged to Whipple’s son, who is currently attending college.

The Lego Maniacs Camp is actually a film class, Whipple said, because he shows the children how to make stop-motion videos featuring their lego creations.

Using an i-Pad, Whipple shows the campers how to film video and use animation one frame at a time to show a lego moving. Whipple also includes sound effects in the videos.

“They (the children) are using technology that schools are using,” he said. “They are learning media literacy.”

Meshoppen resident, Iolaus Trowbridge, assists Whipple in teaching the class. He helps teach film, robotics, and how to make a green screen.

“I really like doing this kind of stuff,” said Trowbridge, who was once a student of Whipple’s. “I’ve been doing digital arts and animation since I was 13.”

Campers also learn to work in groups, while making items out of Legos and making videos.

“The class is also about communication and collaboration,” Whipple said.

For the first day of camp on June 23, children used their imagines to build oceans and a nozzle to water plants from the ocean.

They also made a background for their video using paper and cardboard.

Some of the campers designed mountains and others designed a city for their background. On day two, they started to work on their video. The next step will be making a cities of the future that will feature boats, aircrafts and hovercrafts.

“I love Tunkhannock,” Whipple said. “I come here every summer. Some of the kids (at the Dietrich Theater) have been with me for 3 or 4 years now.”

Whipple will teach another Lego Maniacs Camp workshop from June 27 to July 3. It will also be at the Dietrich Theater. He also has been teaching a workshop called Fashion Mag Jr., which teaches students to design clothes and make fashion magazines.