Lego has just released braille bricks, helping to teach blind and visually impaired children the braille alphabet and numbers in new and exciting ways.
Lego has been there for us through thick and thin. It was there when Harry Potter became big, it was there when Lego films were just crying out to be made, and it was there for many students during lockdown.
This time, Lego has outdone themselves by producing the best, most wholesome design ever: “braille bricks.” By braille bricks, they mean the Lego we all know and love, just with an impressive addition: the studs on top are arranged to reflect the braille alphabet and letters.
To encourage learning through new ways, they’ve made sure that “the bricks are moulded so that the studs on top reflect individual letters and numbers in the braille alphabet while remaining fully compatible with the Lego system.”
In a statement put forth by the Lego Foundation, they explained that whilst there are “thousands of audio books and computer programmes on the market today, fewer young people are learning braille. Yet, individuals with blindness or impaired vision all over the world rely on braille to work, study and enjoy their daily lives to the fullest.”
In an attempt to “encourage blind and visually impaired children to explore new ways to learn” the company has recognised that there needs to be more efficient, engaging ways of educating kids and they’re doing it in the best way possible by learning through play and “boosting their confidence, and instilling important creative problem-solving skills.” Lego have even put together 90 educational activities to help parents, guardians and educators use the bricks as tools for learning.
As Lego paves the way as one of the best educational learning tools that’s inclusive of all abilities, it’s probably time to reminisce and bring out the old Harry Potter and Disney sets.
