Play Well, Learn a Lot

Colourful and easy to use, LEGO is popular not only among kids but adults too.

History

28 January 1958 marked the day the LEGO brick was born. Since inception, over 400 billion LEGO elements have been manufactured. Approximately seven Lego sets are sold every second. Over the years changes have been made to the appearance of the pieces; however, they are still compatible with bricks made more than 58 years ago.

The famous building blocks were designed by a Danish carpenter named Ole Kirk Christiansen back in the 1940s. After losing his job, he decided to try his hand at crafting toys out of wood which soon lead to the ingenious idea of creating interlocking bricks that mimicked the stacking capabilities of regular blocks but also allowing for creative possibilities when building. He named his design "LEGO".

Skills Children Can Develop Through LEGO Play

LEGO allows for a range of creative and imaginative games. Children develop personal motivation and are actively engaged mentally through LEGO play. Ideas and questions are formulated leading to sorting and problem-solving in three dimensions. Patterning practice develops fine-motor and creative skills in kids.

More benefits of LEGO play include:

• Lateral thinking in a fun environment
• Literacy is improved when kids work with instructions
• Organization and planning through construction is developed
• It enhances communication and critical thinking
• Kids are learning important skills for the professional world. Many architects and engineers have translated a childhood love of LEGO into a career path in building and design.

Fun Facts

• The name 'LEGO' came from the first two letters of the Danish two-word phrase "let godt", which translates into English as 'play well'.
• You can combine six of the eight-studded LEGO bricks in 915,103,765 ways.
• The world's largest LEGO tower contains approximately 500,000 bricks.
• LEGO minifigures are one of the world's largest populations, with over 4 billion of them in possession around the world.
• The number of LEGO bricks sold in a year, if laid end to end, would reach more than five times around the world.
• Roughly 18 pieces in one million are wasted during the production process.
• The LEGO Group is one of the world¿s largest tyre manufacturers.
• LEGO DUPLO bricks are eight times the size of original LEGO bricks, but can still connect perfectly together.

The most popular LEGO themes for kids include Star Wars, Ninjago, Bionicle, Lord of the Rings, Marvel, Batman, Technic, The Lego Movie, Friends, Lego Universe, Jurassic World, Toy Story, Disney and Mindstorms

Begin your child's LEGO journey here. Shop now!