Art&Seek Jr. is one mom‘s quest to find activities to end the seemingly endless chorus of the “I’m Bored Blues” while having fun herself.  Impossible you say? Check back on Tuesdays for kid-friendly events that are fun for adults, too.

So stop me if this has happened to you. You decide to get up in the middle of the night for some reason. You’ve got to let the cat out, check the alarm, get a drink of water, whatever. And as you’re stumbling through the dark looking for the light switch you encounter a tiny yet deadly force that will stop you flat in your tracks. That’s right. You stepped on a Lego. Though innocent looking enough, one teensy little block can wield enough pain to send you howling in the night like a wounded coyote, and the expletives that are sure to follow would surprise even the saltiest of sailors. Much like stepping in dog poop, it’s a sensation that is both unmistaken and universal.

Come cheer on the young scientists at the Lego League Championship Tournament this weekend. Photo Perot Museum of Nature and Science

But even though Legos can be a sleepy parent’s worst nightmare, they’re just so darn fun that no home with children is complete without them. We all know that the hours of entertainment for the tinys is better than gold, but what makes them totally worth an achy foot or two is the boundless creativity that blossoms when you dump a box of Legos on the floor and your kids start to work.

If you want to see how far Legos can take a kid, come cheer on the young scientists at the Lego League Championship Tournament this weekend at The Hockaday school. This regional engineering competition, which is affiliated with the Perot Museum of Nature and Science, challenges students 9 to 14 to use their creativity and technical knowledge to create robots designed to solve real-world problems. Cool, huh?

Got a kid who wants to learn how to build his or her own robot? Stop by the Haggard branch of the Plano Public Library and sign them up for Rockin’ Robots. Kids can learn how to build a Lego Mindstorm robot and then program it to do what they want. Beginners are welcome. The eight-week program for kids 9 to 14 starts Saturday.

Lego enthusiasts 6 and up can drop in at the Emily Fowler branch of the Denton Public Library the third Friday of the month for the Legos Builders Club. A different theme is picked for each month, and kids can build on that theme or build a creation of their own.

With all this Lego fun going on, parents everywhere should invest in slippers.

Therese Powell is an Art&Seek calendar coordinator and KERA-TV producer.  She spends most of her free time seeking out adventures for her 7-year-old daughter, Rose.  Tell us about your ideas for quirky kid adventures by leaving a comment. Or e-mail Therese at [email protected].