Thanks to generous donations of LEGO toy building pieces, the Bernardsville Public Library already has been holding weekend drop-in sessions for local children and their family members in the library's children section.

But this weekend, the library tried to step up the childrens' LEGO creative juices with the first ever LEGO Challenge.

All the children who participated were awarded prizes, but the official winner of the LEGO contest on Saturday afternoon was Ethan Bell, age 6, of Bernards Township, said Felicia Ballard, librarian at the Bernardsville Public Library. Ethan, a kindergarten student at the Oak Street Elementary School in Basking Ridge, came to the library with his grandmother.

"He did a wonderful job, creating rockets that could travel into CyberSpace," Ballard said. "It was difficult to choose a winner, as each of our participants did an amazing job."

The library's next Open LEGO Build family program for all ages is scheduled for 3 p.m. on March 16, Ballard said. The library's next LEGO Challenge, with prizes, for grades K-2 is scheduled for 4:15 p.m. on Thursday, April 11, Ballard said.

All of the LEGOs available to the children were donated, Ballard said. "Our community is very supportive of us!" she said.