Tag: LEGO Foundation

LEGO Braille Bricks Transforms Play and Learning for Children With Visual Impairments

Since the year 2020, the LEGO Foundation has been making strides in the field of inclusive education. And for this year, LEGO takes it further step for more inclusive play and education by introducing the innovative LEGO Braille Bricks educational kits.

The LEGO Braille Bricks have been specifically designed to cater to the needs of children with vision impairments. These innovative pieces of learning tools are now readily available for purchase on LEGO.com. This means that families can now experience the educational benefits and enjoy honing their tactile skills from the comfort of their own homes.

Let’s take a look at some most important features of the LEGO Braille Bricks, and how they aid in learning.

Early Learning through LEGO Braille Bricks

lego braille bricks

The LEGO Foundation has received an overwhelmingly positive response from parents, children, educators, and charitable organizations alike. Their feedback has highlighted how LEGO Braille Bricks have revolutionized play and learning for blind and partially sighted children, fostering inclusivity and creativity. It is this invaluable feedback that has led to the creation of the new LEGO Play system with Braille set.

Much like their sighted counterparts, children with vision impairments thrive when exposed to the joys of reading from a young age. LEGO Braille Bricks empower family members to immerse themselves in the world of braille in a playful manner. This engagement not only promotes bonding but also aids children with visual impairments in developing essential, lifelong literacy skills.

Dive into the Details of the LEGO Braille Bricks Set

40656 40655 lifestyle cons 4

Designed for children aged 6 and above, this LEGO Play with Braille set features bricks in an array of vibrant colors, including white, yellow, green, red, and blue. These bricks seamlessly integrate with all other LEGO products, ensuring endless creative possibilities.

Each brick within this set has studs thoughtfully arranged to correspond to numbers and letters in the braille system. Beneath these studs, you’ll find the printed version of the respective symbol or letter. Additionally, the set includes two baseplates for building and comes in packaging adorned with braille embossing.

Children with vision impairments can enhance their tactile skills while enjoying the incorporation of braille learning into their daily family playtime using LEGO Braille Bricks.

Embarking on Your LEGO Braille Bricks Journey

To enrich the play experience and support pre-braille skill development, LEGO has also come up with curated a series of engaging play starters. These activities have been meticulously designed to teach players how to orient, attach, and stack bricks while partaking in beloved games like “Hand of the Giant” – a delightful 2-player storytelling adventure. The entire family can join in on the fun and embark on a braille learning journey together.

Exciting Developments With LEGO Braille Bricks in 2024

40656 40655 lifestyle cons 1

LEGO has also announced some of the exciting developments that await LEGO Braille Bricks in early 2024. LEGO will introduce the LEGO Audio & Braille Building Instructions as a permanent offering. This innovative experience will provide builders with the option to access more LEGO building instructions either in audio or braille text. It’s a step forward in making LEGO even more accessible to everyone.

Needless to say, LEGO Braille Bricks is not just a set of ordinary LEGO bricks; it’s a tool that opens doors to creativity, learning, and togetherness. So, whether you’re a parent, an educator, or a child with a passion for learning, the world of LEGO Braille Bricks invites you to explore, learn, and create, all while fostering a sense of belonging and inclusion for all.

If you need to know more about how LEGO Braille Bricks can help in teaching children with visual impairments, then you may want to check out the following product specifications below. You may also visit its product page via this affiliate link for more details.

LEGO Play With Braille – English (40656)

287 pieces | $89.99

lego braille bricks lego braille bricks

This LEGO Play with Braille – English Alphabet set (40656) combines the fun of LEGO bricks with braille letters, numbers, and signs to offer a playful learning experience for children learning braille. The set comes with baseplates to build on and there are play starters to explore on LEGO.com. The play starters help kids develop their skills as they learn how to orient, attach, and stack the bricks. The set also gives an insight into the braille code and braille characters.

  • LEGO braille bricks – This Play with Braille English Alphabet set (40656) for kids aged 6+ contains 284 bricks with braille numbers and letters from the English alphabet, plus baseplates to build on
  • Learn through play – This set is designed to help children with visual impairments practice their tactile skills and offers a fun way to incorporate braille toys into everyday family play
  • Share the fun – Looking to buy LEGO braille bricks? This is a set for families to enjoy together and you’ll find play starters on LEGO.com to help kids get going

LEGO Starts Distributing Special MRI Scanner Sets to 600 Hospitals Globally

Not all LEGO sets are purchasable goods for collectors. LEGO  has also designed some special few to serve greater symbolic purposes. Last year we featured LEGO’s collaborative plan with NASA to send astronaut minfigures aboard the un-crewed Artemis 1 mission. This test launch of a prospective new-generation lunar mission spacecraft is due to happen sometime this year. In another field, LEGO Foundation announced last month its simple idea to ease children’s concerns about getting an MRI. Their idea: distribute some special MRI scanner sets to be to local-community hospitals around the world. LEGO looks to be ready now.

As told by Brickset, a February 23 press release from LEGO announced their plans to donate brick-built MRI Scanner sets. Hospitals around the world with a radiology department and MRI Scanning facility can apply to receive one of these. Thus far, LEGO has earmarked 600 MRI Scanner sets to be given to selected hospitals that have applied here. LEGO designer Erik Ullerlund Staehr developed these sets back in 2015. It’s based on the MRI setup of Odense University Hospital in Denmark, made out of nearly 500 pieces. It depicts two MRI techs giving a scan to an excited boy.

That’s the kind of mood LEGO hopes to instill in young MRI subjects through their limited-edition special sets. Already, LEGO MRI sets have arrived at about 100 applicants of their planned 600 beneficiary hospitals worldwide. More information about the MRI Scanner sets can be found above courtesy of the LEGO Foundation. They even made an introductory video for it too.

LEGO Foundation Donates Near 1M Euros for July Flood Victims in Germany

Even as fans/collectors worldwide buy their products and make them a global toy giant, LEGO still has a big heart. Sometimes, they might encourage their fans to engage in an activity that they’ll then match in charitable action. But when the chips are down, The LEGO Foundation doesn’t hesitate to lend a helping hand. Promobricks.de has it that LEGO made a near-million-Euro donation to help German families and children affected by severe mid-2021 floods. The disaster, which gripped Europe throughout July, was considered the worst to hit Germany since 1962’s North Sea flood. But now, LEGO is helping them recover.

As detailed on their Twitter November 23, LEGO donated 7.1 million Danish Kroner to the German Red Cross. That’s equivalent to €960,000 ($1,076,616 in direct conversion). LEGO’s donation will help rebuild 10 kindergartens damaged by July’s flooding in Germany’s North Rhine-Westphalia state. A new family aid center also counts among plans by the German Red Cross, made possible by LEGO’s charity. This is merely the latest in a series of 2021 donations by LEGO. Other beneficiaries this year include children in Afghanistan and Haiti. LEGO has also been prominent in helping address the COVID-19 pandemic. You can expect nothing less from one of the biggest brands ever in all-ages toys.

LEGO Foundation Gives COVID Response and Affected Children a Boost with $150 Million Donation

LEGO as a company may have a range of products that cater to many age groups today. That doesn’t change the fact that children remain their original and primary focus. The LEGO Foundation charity arm does its part in helping meet the needs of disadvantaged children around the world. And they have been especially busy since 2020 in aiding global response to the COVID-19 pandemic. As recently as this past June, LEGO Foundation has donated $23 million to improve access to education in pandemic-locked areas. Now they are announcing their biggest charitable contribution yet, for the sake of pandemic-affected children.

As Brick Fanatics reports, LEGO announced this past Sunday its pledge of $150 million for children and community support. The reason, as stated in their social media accounts this past Sunday, September 26, is obvious. Lifestyle changes wrought by the pandemic, in how children access education and parents earn a living, constitutes a crisis. Thus, their donation of $150 million will be divided between two major beneficiaries for supporting COVID-affected communities worldwide. $70 million of the pledge will go to UNICEF for vaccines and health supplies. The remaining $60 million will be distributed to LEGO’s partner charities to help accelerate COVID recovery with child cases.

LEGO Foundation CEO Anne-Birgitte Albrectsen described the ongoing pandemic as a transformative moment for the world’s educational systems. The sizable donation they have given to UNICEF and their partner charities are in hopes of finding creative solutions to challenges brought by COVID. She also called on world governments and the private sector to not let up on donations to COVID response. In her words, “No one is safe until we are all safe.” Albrectsen gave this speech during the Global Citizen Live event last weekend.