Tag Archives: LEGO Foundation

LEGO announces initiatives to support neurodivergent individuals in stores [News]

The LEGO Group has today announced that they will be implementing a series of measures to make life easier for autistic and neurodivergent children and adults in their brick-and-mortar stores. Work is being carried out with KultureCity, a charity whose aim is to facilitate the implementation of such measures. This is actually not the first time the two firms have worked together; the LEGO House, in Billund, Denmark, has already received KultureCity’s stamp of approval for sensory inclusivity. The aim is for all stores in the USA and Canada to get the same certification this April, with more locations worldwide to follow later in the year.

The LEGO Life Magazine will also receive some minor updates to make it more accessible for everyone. And the LEGO Foundation has also announced five new partners in their Play for All Accelerator program:

  • Social Cipher: a video game platform focused on social and emotional learning for the neurodivergent.
  • Kokoro Kids: A platform in Spanish, Portuguese, and English dedicated to using play for developing emotional skills early on in kids.
  • Mom’s Belief: an Indian-based organization (the largest in the country) approaching the education of neurodivergent children in a holistic manner.
  • onebillion: a software publisher dedicated to publishing reading and math resources designed to help those children in most need.
  • Little Journey: Using technology to bring a sense of ease to families with children amid the healthcare process.

    • Read the LEGO Group’s press release on these initiatives after the bump

The LEGO Foundation partners with Play Included to support LEGO-based learning for neurodivergent kids in UK [News]

Ahead of World Autism Awareness Day on April 2, The LEGO Foundation, the company’s learning development arm, is unveiling a new partnership with Play Included, a UK-based entity that uses LEGO as a therapy tool for neurodivergent children, including those with autism. The company is putting its support behind the existing Brick-by-Brick program that targets children ages 5 and up and allows them to learn in a group environment on small teams, teaching them valuable skills in socializing, problem-solving, communication, and more. The LEGO Foundation also plans to utilize the partnership to conduct studies on learning through play and how it could potentially be used to impact other conditions such as ADHD and anxiety.

Here’s a video from LEGO outlining the program.

Read the full press release from LEGO below

The LEGO Foundation expands Braille Bricks availability to aid visually impaired learning [News]

Last year, the LEGO Foundation revealed Braille Bricks, a tool to “help children with vision impairment learn critical thinking, problem-solving and collaboration through play.” Today, they are announcing that the bricks are being officially launched in Brazil, Denmark, France, Germany, Norway, the UK and the US after a successful pilot and testing program. The toolkits will be distributed free of charge to select institutions and schools serving the needs of children with visual impairments. Training and teaching supplements are available to everyone at LEGObraillebricks.com.

LEGO Braille Bricks are molded so that the studs on top represent individual letters and numbers in the Braille alphabet. They are also printed with the letters and numbers so they can be used in a collaborative and inclusive way with sighted peers. The LEGO Foundation will launch Braille Bricks in an additional 13 additional countries in early 2021, including Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Finland, Ireland, Italy, New Zealand, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the Netherlands.

Read the official Braille Bricks announcement from LEGO and see an expanded gallery of photos.

LEGO Education joins consortium to accelerate STEAM learning in response to COVID-19 pandemic in the US [News]

As a response to the new methods of remote work and learning that many of us are experiencing from the global pandemic, CDW-G, Intel Corporation, and the LEGO Foundation are collaborating with the nonprofit organization First Book to start the Creating Learning Connections Grant (CLC). The grant will fund new learning methods for several thousand students and families in Title I schools in the United States impacted by the pandemic. LEGO says the students will receive critical at-home and in–the-classroom learning resources, including internet connectivity, technology devices, and hands-on STEAM learning solutions.

Click to read more about the initiative

The LEGO Foundation awards $100m to Sesame Workshop to aid children affected by Rohingya and Syrian refugee crises [News]

The LEGO Foundation recently announced a $100 million grant to Sesame Workshop to support children affected by the Rohingya and Syrian refugee crises. The LEGO Foundation is the charitable organization affiliated with LEGO Group owners, and is itself a 25% owner of the LEGO Group. The grant is being disbursed over the following 5 years, with funds being released as milestones are met. The partnership with BRAC, the IRC (International Rescue Committee) and New York University’s Global TIES for Children will reach children affected by the crises with play-based learning opportunities.

Click to learn more