LEGO & Education:

The perfect building blocks of STEM learning

There’s no doubt about it: kids are WILD about LEGO these days, and can spend hours getting lost in constructing their own worlds. And if you’re a parent reading this, chances are that you have fond memories of building with LEGO too. Given that these unique tubular snap blocks have been around for almost a century (LEGO was founded in 1932), we know that it stands the test of time. It’s not surprising LEGO is a twice-named ‘toy of the century’.

But what makes it so special?

Well, we may be biased, but we think that LEGO offers a perfect STEM learning opportunity.

How LEGO and STEM Come Together to Teach Through Fun

The name ‘LEGO’ is an abbreviation of the two Danish words “leg godt”, meaning ‘play well.’ And for kids, it’s those moments in which play and learning intersect that make education truly engaging and memorable. In fact, at STEM Camp, we see the amazing results of inquiry-based learning (that’s when free-thinking and play is encouraged!) everyday.

9 Ways LEGO Play Crosses Over With STEM Education

LEGO fosters learning within the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) disciplines in a variety of ways, including making complex concepts more tangible, interactive, and engaging for learners of all ages.

Here’s how:

1) Hands-on Learning and Problem-Solving

Tactile Exploration: LEGO’s physical blocks allow students to engage in hands-on learning, which can help them better understand abstract concepts. By building structures, machines, and models, students are encouraged to explore trial and error, which is a critical part of the engineering and scientific method.
Problem-Solving: As students work through challenges—whether building a bridge, a robot, or a vehicle—they are asked to think critically, plan, and solve problems, all of which are core skills in STEM disciplines. This iterative process reinforces key aspects of scientific inquiry, where solutions are refined through continuous testing, learning (including failure!) and modification.

2. Fostering Creativity and Innovation

Design Thinking: LEGO encourages a process of creativity through design thinking. Students can brainstorm, design, prototype, and improve their creations. This process mirrors the work of engineers and scientists who prototype, test, and iterate on their ideas.
Encouraging Exploration: By combining different LEGO elements (such as gears, motors, and sensors), students can explore how different components interact with each other. This promotes creativity and innovative thinking as they experiment with new ideas.

3. Introduction to Engineering Concepts

Mechanics and Structural Engineering: Building with LEGO provides hands-on experience with principles of structural engineering, such as balance, force distribution, and load-bearing. Students can see how different designs affect the stability and strength of the structures they build.
LEGO Technic: More advanced LEGO sets like LEGO Technic introduce students to complex mechanical systems, such as gears, pulleys, axles, and levers. These sets give insight into how engineers design moving parts and machines, making them a powerful introduction to mechanical engineering.

4. Programming and Robotics

LEGO Spike for Robotics: Used at our sister camp, Camp Steam Canada, the LEGO® Education SPIKE™ Essential kit gets primary school students excited about hands-on STEAM learning. This playful, narrative-based learning experience is part of the LEGO Learning System. The set comes with 4 minifigures with their own personalities, who act as storytellers to make problem-solving relatable to all students. Icon- and word-based block coding with simple hardware – including an intelligent 2-port Hub, 2 Small Motors, a Light Matrix, and a Color Sensor – also bring students’ creations to life.
Coding: Students can learn basic coding and programming skills when controlling their LEGO robots. The SPIKE™ App, featuring age-appropriate icon- and word-based coding based on Scratch, helps develop student coding skills.
Real-world Applications: These robotics kits give students a direct, tangible experience with how coding and technology can influence and interact with the physical world, reinforcing concepts in computer science, engineering, and applied technology.

5. Collaboration and Teamwork

Group Projects: LEGO encourages collaboration in group projects, where students can work together to design, build, and troubleshoot their creations. Collaborative work is important in STEM careers, as interdisciplinary teams often work together to solve complex problems.
Communication Skills: As students present their projects and explain their designs and processes, they build communication skills, another key competency in STEM fields.

6. Application of Mathematical Concepts

Geometry and Measurement: Building with LEGO requires understanding geometric shapes, spatial relationships, and measurement. Students need to understand dimensions, angles, and proportions as they assemble their models.
Mathematical Problem-Soving: When creating moving parts or structures, students apply mathematical concepts such as ratios, symmetry, and pattern recognition to solve engineering problems, helping them develop a deeper understanding of math in a practical context.

7. Interdisciplinary Learning

By nature, LEGO engaged kids in learning from more than one area. A student might use geometry and algebra to design a bridge, physics to analyze its stability, engineering to assemble it, and programming to automate a mechanism. This integrative approach is just like real-world STEM applications, where disciplines come together and interact with each other.
By combining different aspects of STEM into one activity, LEGO promotes seeing the whole picture of how scientific and technological principles work together to solve real-world problems.

8. Encouraging Persistence and Resilience

Iterative Testing: Building with LEGO encourages students to test their models and make adjustments. This iterative process mimics the real-world engineering and scientific process of continuous improvement.
Failure as Learning: When students encounter failure—such as a structure not holding up or a robot not functioning—they learn to troubleshoot, revise, and improve, fostering resilience and persistence. These are important qualities in STEM, where failure is often seen as an opportunity for learning and innovation.

9. Engagement and Motivation

Fun and Gamification: LEGO turns learning into a fun and gamified experience. Students are often motivated by the creative freedom and rewards of building something they can physically see and manipulate. The joy of seeing a project come to life helps keep students engaged, which is crucial for long-term learning.
Building Real-World Connections: As students build real-world inspired models, such as cars, airplanes, or cityscapes, they can connect what they are learning in the classroom to how engineers and scientists design and solve problems in the real world.

Did you guess all the ways LEGO supports STEM education?

So there you have it! While we may know LEGO as just pure fun, the truth is, there’s deeper learning going on beneath the surface. LEGO provides a versatile and accessible platform for STEM learning, offering opportunities for creativity, critical thinking, collaboration, and real-world application of scientific and mathematical concepts. It makes STEM subjects more interactive, fun, and approachable, helping to build the foundational skills needed for future success in these fields.

Have Fun With LEGO at STEM Camp

In case it isn’t obvious, we LOVE LEGO at STEM Camp and at our sister camp, Camp STEAM too.

Visit our themes page on STEM Camp and Camp STEAM to learn about how we’re incorporating LEGO learning into our amazingly fun weeks at camp.

And if you’re looking for more educational toys, we’ve got you covered too, with the Ultimate Educational Toy Gift Guide.

See you this summer, campers!

LEGO & Education:

The perfect building blocks of STEM learning

How LEGO and STEM Come Together to Teach Through Fun