An 8-year-old will represent the Bay Area at a national Lego competition.

Mateo Hung built a Lego airplane that he calls the “Fireball” and won the Mini Master Model Builder title last month in a close competition, beating 22 other builders. Hung will now represent the Bay Area at the national level.

Mateo Hung displays his “Fireball” airplane model inspired by the Wright brothers that won him the title of Mini Master Model Builder at the LEGOLAND Discovery Center Bay Area in Milpitas on June 8, 2023. Mateo now competes for the national Lego building championship. (LEGOLAND Discovery Center Bay Area via Bay City News)

The theme at the LEGOLAND Discovery Center Bay Area this year was technology. The competitors, aged 5-12 years, were asked to build an original Lego creation that shows how technology makes the world an easier and better place to live in.

Mateo says he was inspired by the first airplane built by the Wright brothers for his Fireball build. His model consists of computers, levers, lights and a steering wheel. He says he has learned a lot through the “handful challenges” with his dad where they would both grab a handful of Lego pieces and build something when he was 4.

The best part about Legos for Mateo is creating things with his friend where both build on each other’s ideas. He has built a replica of San Francisco landmarks for the national level contest and hopes he was able to earn enough votes from Bay Area locals to send him to the top to win the National Mini Master Model Builder Competition.

Prachi is a Dow Jones News Fund intern at Bay City News. She is a journalism graduate from University of Southern California. She previously worked at Annenberg Media as a Multimedia Journalist and the Managing Editor. Prachi has covered social justice, climate and human interest stories. She is interested in written and visual storytelling.