The Concept and Benefits of Lego Education

The LEGO Group has been divided into the LEGO Brand that is best-known for its production of bricks, sets, minifigures and basically regroups the overall toy production of the company. But LEGO has not only been deeply concerned solely on the aspect of play but of good play. For the founder and his next generations, LEGO represented also an opportunity for children to develop their creativity, building skills and learning though play. This educational aspect was developed and finally launched in 1981 with LEGO Education.

The idea is to introduce imagination and fun in the process of learning of schoolkids. The focus is set on primary and middle-schools pupils enrolled in math, science, technology and engineering classes. The aim is to create a project where the pupils have the chance to engage, do research, discover new ideas, work in a team and understand by doing which has proved to be the best way of learning. LEGO Education offers kits and training for both children and schoolkids to make the best of their experience. This proved to be very useful when in the 90s the first computers began to be available. LEGO understood the possibility in this sector and in 1996 presented LEGO Mindstorms that will be later connected with robotics, giving the pupils the possibility create smart LEGO models.

The LEGO Education could have an even bigger impact in the next years, developing new digital solutions to approach the new generations and prepare them for jobs that do not exist today but that will be created if the technological innovation will continue.

Furthermore parents and children have always looked at LEGO as a trusted brand with strong and shared values; this features will allow LEGO to place as valid representative to introduce the schoolkids to the new tools. In the context of LEGO Education, in 1998, a new partnership was made with the founder of FIRST LIGUE. The latter is a challenge involving kids from different classes and schools competing in teams on a common project involving sensitive issues such as environment or green energy. The pupils had the task to explore and develop the topic that will end with the presentation of their discoveries.

The final goal of the collaboration is that kids from 6 to 14 are confronted with real-life problems, they learn to overcome their errors, to be more creative and at the same time have the opportunity to learn about coding and robotics and acquire the necessary technological skills without forgetting soft skills.