Unleash Hours of Creativity With These 5 STEAM Benefits From LEGO Play
The STEAM benefits from LEGO play are endless. Playing with LEGOs reveals the fun aspects of construction and building, making Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math more approachable. We are avid fans of LEGOs, and we believe they are the perfect toy to provide endless STEAM perks. We have seen critical thinking skills and creativity unlocked by building LEGO sets and worlds. LEGOs invite kids, tweens, teens, and adults to explore fun-filled activities that leave them with a sense of accomplishment and spark creativity for the real world.
These are some of the STEAM benefits from LEGO play we have observed with our LEGO enthusiasts.
1. Science
Cause and effect and creative problem solving are key STEAM benefits from LEGO play. These science concepts are reinforced in kids’ science classes throughout school, but it can be explored at home with LEGOs at any age. LEGOs allow the cause and effect principle to be put to practice with either large or small builds. Wheels, pulleys, and obscure buildings that can topple over if not properly balanced are a great way to experience science in action. It might be one of the first science lessons a child learns. It is fun to watch the thrill that a child has as he/she tries to build a tower as tall as possible. It gets higher and higher, soon over their heads. Then they all hold their breath as the super tall tower falls over.
Backpack Bytes Pick
Set up a LEGO zipline in your home or backyard to watch your LEGO creations whizz by or stall out based on their design.
2. Technology
LEGOs teach children to use basic materials to complete a task. The tasks can be achieved by simple experiments such as incorporating a pulley to building and coding with tech enabled LEGO sets like LEGO Boost. Lego offers a number of tech-centric programs for libraries and schools that allow creative innovation to come to life. LEGO Boost Creative Toolbox, a robotics LEGO toy designed for kids ages 7 through 12, is a fun and popular STEM experience because it allows kids to tinker with sensor technologies and see how they impact different functionality based on each robot configuration.
Backpack Bytes Pick
Build a challenge for your LEGO Boost to take on with your LEGO sets and individual creations; challenge yourself by incorporating other tech toys into your lego builds, like Little Bits.
3. Engineering
Constructive building toys like LEGOs allow kids to learn basic building principles no matter how big or small they or their LEGO bricks are. Whether you are building the next alien invasion, constructing a castle drawbridge, or connecting buildings with aerial bridges, LEGOs help kids explore what is possible while helping them learn fundamental engineering concepts. Books like LEGO Ideas also inspire what-if thinking that paves the way for unlimited possibilities.
Backpack Bytes Pick
Create and share your creations in the LEGOLife App (available for free download on the App Store or Google Play). It is also a great way to get ideas for things you can build freeform on your own.
4. Arts & Creativity
Whenever someone begins building a LEGO creation, it is by nature a form of art. Creativity is unlocked by mash-ups of bricks of various colors, worlds, and sizes. Creating something from your imagination, whether from a template provided or from a challenge in a LEGO book or magazine, also allows you to play creatively. All around the world, creative LEGO builds can be seen on display, and they all started with LEGO builders who were inspired to connect and build one brick at a time.
Backpack Bytes Pick
Check out the Lego Ideas Activities for creative inspiration. Lego Ideas also hosts many LEGO builder competitions, so be sure to check out the challenges and submit your own ideas.
5. Math
Many teachers use LEGOS to help teach math concepts like fractions, where you can see the spatial difference in the sizes of LEGO bricks for building new creations. Critical thinking skills learned by building with LEGOs also help make concepts feel more tangible during creative play.
Backpack Bytes Pick
Our favorite LEGO building challenges between friends are inspired from community creations shared in the LEGO Ideas Book using Classic LEGO bricks. Challenge friends to build unique creations of geometric shapes for hours of fun.
Bonus STEAM Benefits of LEGO Play
Persistence, curiosity, and a sense of accomplishment are also benefits of LEGO play. These are the same skills and strengths for a growth mindset needed to push the curve with technology and innovation to build a better world for the future. We hope you are inspired to build and explore the STEAM benefits from LEGO play first hand with these colorful and educational toys. Find and participate in competitive building and innovation challenges. The opportunities are endless, and we can’t wait to see what you are inspired to create!
0 Comments