Contest Details

Youth ages 8 to 18: Compete in our virtual building brick challenge series to show off your original builds with plastic building bricks like LEGO and MEGABLOKS! Each month, from October to December, we’ll offer a new build challenge to celebrate the launch of our new Creating with Building Bricks 4-H project. For our challenges youth create their own original builds following the month’s theme and size limits, then submit info on their build, along with photos of the build electronically. Each month, our favorite build (based on creativity, technical skills demonstrated, and alignment to theme) will be selected as the winner in 3 different age divisions:

• 8-10 year olds
• 11-13 year olds
• 14-18 year olds

Winners will receive prizes via mail. We’ll also select one random participant submission per month to receive some swag. There is no cost to enter, but youth MUST be currently enrolled Illinois 4-H club members to participate (enrollment for the 2025-26 4-H year starts October 1,2025!). 

Youth can only submit one build per month! All builds must be original (from the imagination of the youth who submits) and not built from a kit or inspired by the builds of others (including ones they see on the internet). Virtual builds are not permitted for this contest. Builds must be entirely from plastic building brick elements. Builds should also follow the copyright guidelines outlined in the Creating with Building Bricks project resource guide (pages 17 & 18). Youth who win their category one month will not be eligible for prizes any other month in the series. Age divisions go by 4-H age (youth age on 9/1/25).

Monthly Themes and Specs

October

• Theme: Monster Mash
• Build a spooky creature or monster!
• Size: Build should fit on a standard 32x32 stud LEGO (or similar) baseplate (i.e. no larger than 10” wide and long). Build should also be 15” tall or shorter.
• Entries were due by 11 pm on October 31, 2025.

November

• Theme: Hometown Pride
• Build something that represents your town or county!
• Size: Build should fit on a standard 32x32 stud LEGO (or similar) baseplate  (i.e. no larger than 10” wide and long). There is no height maximum.
• Entries due by 11 pm on November 30, 2025.
• November entry submission link

December

• Theme: Habitat Build
• Build a LEGO habitat. A habitat is a small, diorama-style scene featuring 1 minifigure, built on an 8x8 plate base. Habitats are designed to be stackable. Habitat scenes show minifigures at work, home, and play! They are essentially individual "rooms" or spaces that can be connected to create a larger display.
• Size: Build must follow “habitat” rules, so it must fit on an 8x8 stud plate base and must have 2 walls that take up 1 stud each direction (if you don’t have a plate this size, you can build on a bigger plate or base plate and just keep your build contained to this size). Read these Habitat Tutorial Instructions from @brickfambuilds x bradyjoynerbricks or watch this Lego Habitat Tutorial YouTube video from Michael Shell for tips on how to create a habitat. Builds should only contain 1 habitat!
• Entries due by 11 pm on December 31, 2025.
• December entry submission link will go live in early December.

Family Winter Break Build Contest

December 20, 2025-January 4, 2026

Does your family love building together? This is the opportunity for you! Create a build as a family over winter break! One entry per family. All participating families must have at least one currently enrolled Illinois 4-H member on them. All other rules from general monthly contest apply. Build must be original and follow copyright guidelines.

• Theme: Winter Wonderland
• Build something inspired by the winter season!
• Size: Build should fit on 2 standard 32x32 stud LEGO (or similar) baseplates (i.e. no larger than 10” by 20" wide and long). There is no height maximum.
• Entries due by 11 pm on January 4, 2026.
• Family Build entry submission link will go live in late December.

2025 Contest Winners

October 2025 Challenge Winners

8–10-year-old age division

• Builder: Skylar Naff, 10, Fulton County, Pleasant Spacemakers 4-H Club
• Creature Name: Orville's Payback (photo above left)
• Creature Description: Orville has worked as a custodian at the local movie theater all his life. All those years of cleaning up after movie goers has drove him crazy. He decided to become a mad scientist and create a popcorn monster to scare the mess makers.

11–13-year-old age division

• Builder: Aaliyah Naff, 11, Fulton County, Pleasant Spacemakers 4-H Club
• Creature Name: Woody's Woodland Revenge (photo above center)
• Creature Description: My build is the story of a lumberjack who went through the woods, chopping down all the trees. He then reaches the biggest tree in the forest, a giant oak. As he raises his axe to swing, he feels himself being grabbed and lifted off the ground. Woody has his "Woodland Revenge" for all the creatures of the forest.

14–18-year-old age division

• Builder: Daniel McComb, 16, St. Clair County, Creative Critters 4-H Club
• Creature Name: Creeping Canopy (photo above right)
• Creature Description: On Halloween night, the Creeping Canopy — a tree that grew through an old house — tore free from the earth and began to walk. Its creaking limbs and glowing windows now wander the forest, searching for the next home to consume.