Constructing a More Benevolent Globe Through Legos: The Lego Build the Change Project
The LEGO Build the Change Institutes, facilitated by Take Action Global, are inspiring students across various school districts by engaging them in hands-on, creative problem-solving activities using LEGO bricks to address real-world issues.
Heather Brantley, the CTE Digital Communications Specialist, recently had her junior high campus in her district selected to become a LEGO school. Pine Tree Junior High holds five of the 25 participating school seats for this year, making it the first district to participate on this scale.
The institutes motivate students to identify challenges in their communities and design tangible solutions, fostering innovation, teamwork, and social responsibility. Students can choose from a list of real-world challenges, such as designing sustainable schools, or the challenges can be chosen by teachers.
Take Action Global, a partner in the initiative, looks for solutions for climate problems through play. They have adopted five of the district's campuses into the Lego Build the Change Institutes. The Lego Build the Change Initiative, according to Brantley, is the beginning of a great thing and is seeking to expand the program's scale.
The Lego Build the Change Initiative fosters student engagement by providing innovative solutions to real-world problems and making students feel more involved in the world. Brantley advises other teachers to ask questions and persist in their efforts, even if initial attempts are unsuccessful.
LEGO's programs often challenge stereotypes, encourage creativity, and link real-world issues to building activities, helping students visualize and prototype solutions actively. This approach makes abstract problems more concrete and accessible, enhancing engagement in social and environmental challenges.
In addition, LEGO collaborates with educational partners to design programs that boost STEM skills and leadership. These programs create platforms where students can apply design thinking and leadership skills to produce impactful solutions within their schools and communities, harnessing LEGO bricks as a medium for tangible innovation and personal empowerment.
Through structured programs like the Build the Change Institutes, LEGO and Take Action Global inspire students by encouraging them to explore and understand real-world problems relevant to their local contexts, providing a creative platform for prototyping and communicating solutions, promoting leadership and collaborative problem-solving skills, linking innovation with social impact, and integrating STEM education with social change initiatives to build relevant skills. This model reflects LEGO’s broader educational philosophy of "learning through play" and empowerment, which aims to nurture a generation of young changemakers across diverse school districts, inspiring them to develop solutions that matter.
[1] LEGO Education. (n.d.). LEGO Education. Retrieved August 3, 2023, from https://education.lego.com/ [5] LEGO Foundation. (n.d.). What We Do. Retrieved August 3, 2023, from https://www.lego.com/aboutus/our-impact/what-we-do
- Heather Brantley, the CTE Digital Communications Specialist, is excited about her junior high campus becoming a LEGO school, which is part of the LEGO Build the Change Institutes, a program facilitated by Take Action Global.
- The LEGO Build the Change Institutes engage students in hands-on, creative problem-solving activities using LEGO bricks to address real-world issues, fostering innovation, teamwork, and social responsibility.
- Students can choose from a list of real-world challenges, like designing sustainable schools, or challenges can be chosen by teachers, as part of the LEGO Build the Change Institutes.
- Take Action Global, a partner in the initiative, aims to find solutions for climate problems through play and has adopted five of the district's campuses into the LEGO Build the Change Institutes.
- LEGO Education's programs challenge stereotypes, encourage creativity, and link real-world issues to building activities, helping students visualize and prototype solutions.
- LEGO collaborates with educational partners to design programs that boost STEM skills and leadership, giving students a platform to apply design thinking and leadership skills to produce impactful solutions.
- The LEGO Build the Change Initiative, as part of LEGO’s broader educational philosophy of "learning through play" and empowerment, aims to nurture a generation of young changemakers by integrating STEM education with social change initiatives.
