LEGO conventions are exciting places. With big displays, great vendors, and contests, it seems like it could be a great place to take a kid. But recently, when planning on taking my 6-year-old son to both a convention and a LUG meeting, I started to ask myself, “Will he be welcome?” I also started to wonder what would happen if I was displaying a MOC. Could I bring him to help me set up? After all, for the most part, these are events and meetings designed by AFOLs for AFOLs. Are kids welcome at LUGs and conventions?

What I’ve learned from our experiences is that the answer to, “Will he be welcome?” depends on a few factors, namely a child’s age, their maturity, and the specific rules of the event. Let’s take a look at a few situations.

A Tempting Environment

When considering attending an event, your child’s age isn’t the only detail that matters. Conventions are stimulating environments. There are bright colors, loud noises, and MOCs that could make it difficult for any child to resist. And the hardest part? They’re surrounded by LEGO, generally at their eye level, and most of it cannot be touched.

The temptation to touch is off the charts (even for me!) While my son was able to work within the parameters, it was only because we took frequent breaks. We tried to imagine an invisible wall that would shock us if we got too close, and we talked about “looking eyes” versus “touching hands”.

Ask yourself, “Can my kid follow these rules under those conditions?” If the answer is no, remember, these are usually annual events. If your child isn’t ready, there’s always next year. When you do attend, remember that if your child is struggling with the rules, you may be asked to leave. Also, for the consideration of others, please keep them with you the entire time. Lost kids (or parents) can be quite scary in a big, chaotic environment though the event organizers should be happy to help.

Following The Rules

The next thing to consider are the rules of the specific event. Certain conventions like Brick Universe, Brick Convention or Brick Fest Live are family oriented and geared to younger children. These traveling exhibitions have a ton of kid-focused activities like derby races, life-sized models, a LEGO art or “graffiti” wall, or even a giant brick pit. Ticket prices are generally reasonable, making it an ideal event for first-timers both young and old. While there are activities for kids, it’s also an opportunity to practice not touching MOCs and learning how your child handles the convention environment.

Other AFOL-oriented conventions are going to have stricter rules around child participation. In general, LEGO conventions are usually broken up into a convention—a more private affair for those showing their MOCs—and a public exhibition where visitors get to see those MOCs. Generally speaking, young kids are not allowed during the convention portion. When planning to take my son to BrickCon last year as a full-fledged convention attendee, the first thing I did was check their FAQs on their website. BrickCon’s policy, as stated on their website, is:

“LEGO fans of all ages are welcome to join us during public hours (Saturday and Sunday) with a paid public ticket; the private convention is for ages 14 and up (when accompanied by a parent or guardian) and fans 18 years and older.”

Knowing that, instead of the private convention, I bought tickets to the public exhibition and we hopped on the train. My son knew what the plan was before we even got there because we went over the rules a number of times in the days leading up to the event. After about 20-30 minutes, he would get restless and we would have to have a snack or go outside and run around.

While we were there, a lot of builders welcomed him with open arms. Brandon Jones, who built a massive Super Mario MOC, spent ten minutes explaining to my son how the software and motors worked together. John Sherman, who was displaying an impressive number of GBC modules, walked him through all of his many modules and even let him turn some of them on. This was hands down my son’s favorite part of the whole convention.

The difference in these examples shows why it’s so important to check the convention’s rules before buying a ticket. It worked for us and we had such a blast that a few months later, he still brings it up.

Displaying a MOC as an Exhibitor

Some conventions like Bricks by the Bay (which is sadly on hiatus for 2023) usually welcome kids as exhibitors and encourage them to display their MOCs as Gwytheth wrote about last year. Different conventions will have different rules for exhibitors with children—sometimes changing year over year—so make a habit of checking their policies. For example, this year, Bricks Cascade is not allowing any children under the age of 10 to accompany exhibitors at the private convention because of several past incidents where kids were unattended (a change which has led to some frustration from some organizations and builders who have decided not to participate).

A sampling of the “kids area” of MOCs on display at ricks By the Bay 2022

It is a hard reality for some AFOL parents that their own kids can’t fully participate with them at LEGO fan conventions, but with tightening facility and liability requirements, these more age-restrictive policies might become more of the norm. (My son and I were actually planning on building something together to display at Bricks Cascade, but that will have to wait until he’s older unfortunately.)

The overall consensus is that the considerations for bringing kids as exhibitors are similar to attending a convention. Kids need to be supervised and the convention must allow it. But be prepared to put your kids to work, as fellow BrickNerd Bart shared: “In our LUG, if you bring kids, expect them to work. Landscaping, running wire under the display, etc.”

Attending a LUG Meeting

LUG meetings are a different scenario as they can be a lot less appealing to kids. LUGs are LEGO User Groups of AFOLs that meet regularly in a certain region to chat about all things LEGO. (You can find one near you here.) The key word in there is the ‘A’ which stands for ‘Adult’.

Image of a recent SeaLUG meeting at a library including a parts draft.

Going over last week’s minutes doesn’t have quite the same draw as a huge display. Depending on the meeting, it’s likely there’s more discussion of LUG business, maybe voting, some planning and then possibly some activities. Before taking my son to my LUG meeting, I emailed the group first to see if it was okay and the response was yes. The meeting started with an initial social hour then the meeting itself, followed by a game of Dirty Brickster (a LEGO-themed White Elephant gift exchange). It was the December meeting after all.

During the social hour as well as the meeting, he mostly kept himself busy on a tablet. We met a few other AFOLs and a few other kids which was nice. When the meeting itself started, I was surprised at how often he’d perk up when the discussion centered on his interests. All of the other adults were warm and welcoming, and I was glad I had brought him. It was fun to see him interact with my hobby in a whole new way. On the way home, he couldn’t stop talking about his favorite part of the meeting: stealing a gift from an adult during the gift exchange.

A word of caution though that your mileage may vary depending on the LUG. Some LUGs have a bin of play brick to entertain any kids while the adults make plans. Some LUGs forbid kids from attending altogether; others welcome it. Some welcome kids and other family members for more social events like barbecues or get-togethers. I expect that most LUGs might not even have written rules about kids but follow norms established from previous experience. When in doubt, ask the group.

Final CON-siderations

Wrapping things up, I have a few more tips for parents who bring children to public LEGO exhibitions. So you have a mature child, you’ve checked the rules, tickets are bought, and you’re ready to go? Awesome, get ready to have fun and remember these tips:

Set yourself and your kids up for success by going over the rules with them ahead of time, such as discussing what can and cannot be touched, several times before you arrive.
Take frequent breaks by going outside the exhibition hall if possible. Bonus points for finding the nearest playground in advance.
Set a budget for buying LEGO. There’s going to be a lot of stuff to buy and it’ll be helpful to know how much you’re willing to spend, but I’d suggest budgeting for at least one minifigure.
Snacks. Bring lots and lots of snacks.

And remember to have fun! In my particular case, my six-year-old son was mostly welcome at the LEGO convention and LUG meeting I’ve mentioned, and I would probably bring him again. How else are we going to inspire the next generation of AFOLs?

What has been your experience with bringing kids to an AFOL event? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.

Do you want to help BrickNerd continue publishing articles like this one? Become a top patron like Charlie Stephens, Marc & Liz Puleo, Paige Mueller, Rob Klingberg from Brickstuff, John & Joshua Hanlon from Beyond the Brick, Megan Lum, Andy Price, John A. and Lukas Kurth from StoneWars to show your support, get early access, exclusive swag and more.