THE START OF SOMETHING.
INCREDIBLE AND EXCEPTIONAL.
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The classic LEGO brick was designed by a Danish carpenter named Ole Kirk Christiansen in the 1940s. Christiansen began to make wooden toys after losing his job, and was soon designing an interlocking brick that would mimic the stacking ability of regular blocks, but still allow for more creative building possibilities. He named his product ‘LEGO’ after the Danish phrase ‘Leg’ and ‘Godt’, otherwise known as ‘Play Well’. Barely 15 years later, Christiansen discovered plastic as the ideal material for production of toys, and bought the first injection moulding machine in Denmark. His courage, input and his investment paid off: as in 1949 he developed the LEGO brick prototype, which to this very day, still continues to excite countless children and adults. Over the years he perfected the brick, which is still the basis of the entire LEGO building system today.
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THE JOURNEY OF PATIENCE, TIME AND PERSEVERANCE.
LEGO has great sentimental value to parents; many kids have boxes of bricks that have been passed down to them from previous generations including their parents and their grandparents and most parents remember playing with LEGO when they were a child. In a recent poll, LEGO is the heritage toy most likely to be passed on to future generations.Two thirds of adults said they wanted to pass on their childhood toys to their own offspring and 42% said their children owned at least one toy that was originally theirs. Most importantly, this is because LEGO isn’t just a plastic brick, but an experience, a tool for parents and children to spend quality time together building the latest LEGO set. There have been a few small adjustments in shape, colour and design of the brick from time to time, however today’s LEGO bricks still fit bricks from 1958. The future of construction is still being perfected but with LEGO, there are no limits.
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Early prototypes of the LEGO minifigure had a variety of skin colors and facial expressions, but production designs used only a yellow skin color and standard smiling face. LEGO Pirates in 1989 expanded the array of facial expressions. LEGO began adding beards and eye patches giving the characters personality and an overall image. Soon the other themes caught on, ranging from sun glasses, lipstick, eyelashes, and so on. However, many of the older collectors resented the new look, and preferred the simplistic nature of the two eyes and smile. Nevertheless, from 1999 licensed series such as LEGO Star Wars and Lego Harry Potter gave minifigures the personas of specific characters from their cinematic counterparts, but it was not until 2003, with the introduction of LEGO Basketball, that the palette of skin tones broadened to include more lifelike colors.
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CHANNEL YOUR INNER GEEK.
So why LEGO? Well, firstly because it’s so simple to use. The bricks can be used to create almost anything that the creative mind can think of. There are no restrictions or limitations when it comes to LEGO, your childs needs and their learning capabilities. LEGO is the 2nd largest toy manufacturer in the world. The brand is known worldwide by most people and offers a range of products for all ages and both genders. By updating collections and introducing new products each year, LEGO is striving to be number one. The bricks come in a variety of shapes and colours which helps with the aid of inspiration. Having the chance to be creative with LEGO allows the builder to design both simple and complex forms which can prerpare them to be the builder of tomorrow.
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DEVELOP VITAL LEARNING SKILLS FOR THE FUTURE.
We remember things we learn as part of an active, creative process better than things we are told passively. This is called learning by making. It is quite simply, the best way to acquire and improve skills. When children work with products from LEGO, they add to their own knowledge bank, which corresponds to their particular level of development. There are two major types of problem. Convergent problems have only one correct solution. Divergent problems can be solved in multiple ways. Because children, primarily, have a solution of putting together blocks in a variety of ways, block play is divergent play, and divergent play with blocks may prepare kids to think creatively and better solve divergent problems. LEGO also has some great functional benefits, being among some of the best developmental toys that money can buy. A set of blocks can help children develop motor skills and hand eye coordination, spatial skills, creative problem solving skills and social skills.
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BECOME THE BUILDERS OF TOMORROW.
LEGO is made using superior, high quality building bricks. The stickability of the bricks is of high importance so that the models stay together and don’t fall apart when building or when built. Each set of LEGO comes complete with an easy to understand instruction booklet which show step by step pictorials. This is to ensure that kids don’t have any complicated words or instructions to read. For first time buyers into the product, the bricks are sealed in separate bags inside the boxes. These are numbered in the order that they need to be opened in and can then be constructed into any shape required. First time building experience is important to LEGO as children that have a bad experience can put them off construction toys for life. As a way of trying to prevent these bad experiences, the step by step guides should be followed from beginning to end. There are so many benefits to building with LEGO and this tradition needs to be continued for the future generations.
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LEGO pieces of all varieties comprise a universal system. Despite variation in the design and purpose of individual pieces over the years, each remains compatible in some way with existing pieces. Each LEGO piece must be manufactured to an exacting degree of precision. When two pieces are engaged they must fit firmly, yet be easily disassembled. This format make its easy for all ages, young or old, to model shapes with the product. Iconic and collectable minifigures have been introduced by LEGO. Other brands have tried to compete with this, however they are just not the same. "Automatic Binding Bricks" were patented by the LEGO Group in 1958. Several competitors have attempted to take advantage of LEGO’s popularity by producing blocks of similar dimensions, and advertising them as being compatible with LEGO bricks.
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FOR THE GENIUS AMONGST US.
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LEGO’s mission is to now inspire and develop the builders of tomorrow by inventing the future of play. The brand’s promise is to keep the joy of building and pride of creation by letting the builders free with their imagination and creativity yet have fun and learn at the same time. Learning is at the very core of the LEGO Group’s most heartfelt values, and the company’s education division have invested many years in co operation and research with child development specialists and teaching professionals to build a rich understanding of what it takes to provide truly effective learning experiences. LEGO Education solutions enable students to be active, creative and collaborative solution seekers. In this way their instinct to learn is stimulated and they are motivated to apply their learning in new contexts, which means that they embark on a self directed learning process.
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