The Seacoast will soon be invaded by giant lobsters, but don't worry. They're not here to get revenge for all those delicious lobster dinners. They're coming to raise money for the White Island Lighthouse.

The Lighthouse LobStars is the latest effort by the Lighthouse Kids to save the White Island Lighthouse. This time around, the kids, all seventh graders at the North Hampton School, are auctioning off four-foot tall fiberglass lobsters. Local artists will design and paint the lobsters, which can either be sponsored for $2,500 or purchased for $5,000.

To promote the LobStars and raise money for the state's only offshore lighthouse, an army of adolescent crustaceans invaded Market Square last week for a rally.

Clad in red shirts, foam claws and hats with googly lobster eyes on top, the 17 Lighthouse Kids chanted "Do what's right, save the light!" while asking for donations from passing motorists and other denizens of the square.

"It's really one of New Hampshire's biggest icons. Now that the Old Man fell, we need something to represent New Hampshire, and I think it should be the White Island Lighthouse," said Lighthouse Kid John Boduch.

The group has been lobbying for the state to repair the crumbling lighthouse since 2000. The effort started as a service project for seventh graders at North Hampton School. Science teacher Sue Reynolds pitched the idea to her students after seeing the derelict building during a beach cleanup. Reynolds, who also runs the Uncle Oscar tour boat out of Rye Harbor in the summer, began investigating who was maintaining the lighthouse. Since it's a navigational beacon, Reynolds initially thought the Coast Guard was responsible for the upkeep. However, the Coast Guard is only responsible for the light inside, not the structure itself, which falls under the purview of the state Division of Parks and Recreation. The lighthouse, constructed in 1859, is made of stone and wood shingles. Now, after years of harsh winters, the tower is full of growing cracks in the masonry, and the bricks bow outward on the bottom. Leaks can be found in the keeper's cottage and generator room. If the structure were to fall apart, Reynolds said the Coast Guard would simply affix the light to a metal pole.

"Somebody needs to get in there quickly. Time is of the essence. They need to do repairs immediately," Reynolds said.

In 2000, the Lighthouse Kids raised $400 to aid in repair efforts. From those humble beginnings, the group has taken in approximately $63,000 and has worked with Sen. Judd Gregg to secure a $250,000 "Save America's Treasures" matching grant, the same grant source that recently aided The Music Hall in Portsmouth. The money the Lighthouse Kids raise goes to "tangible results" like construction and repairs, and not historical or engineering studies, Reynolds said. The total cost of restoring the lighthouse is $550,000, according to Reynolds.

Torene Tango-Lowy, program specialist at the Division of Parks and Recreation, said the state will soon be releasing bid documents for the restoration work.

Additional funding for the project will come from a portion of the revenue from the sale of the state's conservation license plates.

Lack of funds and difficulty accessing the lighthouse has hampered upkeep efforts for the lighthouse. The island's boat access was washed away in a storm in the 1990s, Tango-Lowy said.

Once repairs are done, Reynolds would like to see some kind of support system in place to keep the lighthouse in good shape.

"It needs some kind of foundation or fund to support it," she said.

What started as a simple service project has since blossomed into a full-fledged movement. The Lighthouse Kids has a board of directors and a memorandum of agreement with the state to promote the lighthouse. Reynolds said the project grew "just by plodding along one step at a time."

"I didn't think it would happen, but it did," she said.

For more information, visit www.lighthousekids.org.