Junessa Johnson and Magizhini Ramakrishnan sorted through a pile of Lego bricks to build their own robots during the building contest at the Lyon County Fair on Saturday.

MARSHALL — Away from the bustle of the midway, there was a different kind of fun going on for a group of kids at the Lyon County Fair on Saturday. Children and youth were digging through piles of Lego bricks dumped out on picnic tables. Their mission: build the best robot.

“Look at my robot!” called out Junessa Johnson. She said her creation could swim and fly – it was shaped like a boat, but also had wings. “It’s a water robot.”

The Lego building contest was one of the events held at the fair on Saturday. Kids had 45 minutes to let their imaginations go wild and build their own Lego robot for judging. Contestants could use their own Lego bricks from home, or use ones provided at the fair. Winners could get cash prizes – but everyone got treats to enjoy while they built.

The robots kids made were all very different from each other. Bostyn Myhre created a robot with a distinctive googly-eyed look.

“Those are the eyes. These are the horns. This is his hat,” Myhre said, pointing out different parts of his creation.

“I tried to make my own model of a Robocop, from the old movies,” said Elijah VanMoer.

“I just made a random robot,” said Owen Wingert.

Judges had a tough time picking their favorite creations. But one entry was definitely getting a lot of attention from the kids. Bradley Remme had built a whole scene out of Legos, with a “rogue robot” fighting a person in a mechanical suit. One of the figures even had moving parts.

“Look at that robot – that thing spins!” said one contest participant.

Remme said he had thought about what he wanted to build for the contest ahead of time. “I’ve been practicing for about a week,” he said.

Remme said he enjoyed doing the Lego contests at the fair. “It’s a good way to build and show off your stuff,” he said.