News File Photo Pictured above are Emma McNamara, Sofia Kowalski, Meridel Stevens, Charlotte Conboy, and Eleanor Stevens with their Enchanted Treehouse. The group participated in the 2023 Innovators Brick Build Competition.

ALPENA — The Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary is seeking entries now through Feb. 7 for the third annual Alpena Area Brick Build Competition, challenging builders in kindergarten through 12th grade to create original brick constructions celebrating underwater exploration. The event showcases local creativity while highlighting the sanctuary’s mission of preserving and discovering marine heritage.

The sanctuary is again partnering with the Innovators class at Thunder Bay Junior High School, the Alpena High School ROV (Remotely Operated Vehicle) Team, and STARBASE Alpena to host the competition.

This highly anticipated competition will be held on Saturday, Feb. 22 at the Great Lakes Maritime Heritage Center in Alpena. Participants can compete individually or in teams, using Lego, Duplo, Mega Bloks, or other compatible building bricks to construct their vision of underwater exploration.

“This year’s theme aligns with our sanctuary’s focus on marine research and discovery, especially given upcoming efforts to map at high resolution the lake bottom within the sanctuary boundaries,” said Daniel Moffatt, education specialist at Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary. “We’re excited to see how participants interpret underwater exploration through their creative builds.”

Registration is open until 4 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 7. Entries will be displayed at the Great Lakes Maritime Heritage Center, where the public can come view these unique interpretations of underwater exploration and maritime heritage.

Entries must be original creations only — no pre-designed kits. Builds are limited to a 24-inch by 24-inch base with a maximum height of four feet. Public voting will determine the winners. There will be multiple age categories: kindergarten through second grade, third through fifth grade, and middle through high school. Teams and individuals can enter.

Entries can be dropped off from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 20 at the Great Lakes Maritime Heritage Center, 500 W. Fletcher St., Alpena.

Public voting will take place on Friday, Feb. 21. The competition event and awards will be held on Saturday, Feb. 22.

For registration information and complete competition rules, visit starbasealpena.org/brick-build-2025.

Bob Thomson teaches STEM classes at Thunder Bay Junior High. He is the robotics mentor at the junior high and high school, and leads the Alpena High School ROV Team, called UR2, pronounced “U R squared.” UR2 stands for Underwater Research Robotics.

“MiSTEM provides us with some funding,” Thomson said about the Brick Build Competition.

He said last year they added a live event with teams, open to builders of all ages.

“We had some families last year that came in,” Thomson said. “Three to five people can participate. It’s a three-hour live build. You can only use our Legos … This year, the theme is underwater exploration.”

This year’s live build event will be held on Saturday, Feb. 22.

“Check-in is right around 11:30 with your team,” Thomson said. “You still have to be registered. Build time is from 12 to 3, then we do a quick awards assembly in the theater there.”

Thomson added that there will also be a family activity running at the same time in the education room, led by volunteers from the Innovators class.

“We created a program called Brickwrecks,” Thomson said, adding that the name is a play on the word “shipwrecks.”

The activity encourages creativity by providing Legos for children and adults to build with, using artifacts from the Great Lakes Maritime Heritage Center as inspiration.

Thomson said the competition is an opportunity for students to use their imagination and collaborate with others to create something unique together.

“We just want to get the word out and see if we can get some more students registered,” he said. “It’s been a good event, especially at my middle-school level. I’ve got a lot of middle-school kids involved.”

Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary is one of 17 national marine sanctuaries administered by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association. Located in northwestern Lake Huron, the sanctuary protects one of America’s best-preserved collections of shipwrecks. Through research, education, and community involvement, the sanctuary works to ensure that future generations can experience these underwater treasures.