LEGO to launch braille bricks in twenty countries

Ross_Alumni

LEGO has released a new set of bricks, but they aren't like any seen before, the new set are designed with visually impaired children in mind and contain braille markings. 

After a successful pilot, the scheme has rolled out in seven countries worldwide, including France, Germany, the USA and the UK, and that number will rise to twenty over the coming months. The bricks have launched in six languages, including English, Portuguese, German and French.

LEGO said that the scheme "introduces a fun and engaging way to help children with vision impairment develop tactile skills and learn the braille system." As for how it works, the Danish company say "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."



As part of the launch, the company will be sending out braille bricks tool kits to schools and services that help with the education of visually impaired children. Each of the kits will contain over 300 braille bricks spanning the full alphabet in the chosen language, numbers 0 to 9 and various mathematical symbols and punctuation marks.

While the hope is that the new set of bricks will help visually impaired children to have fun,develop skills and learn braille, they are also designed for  the use of sighted children. The bricks feature printed letters, numbers and symbols so that they can be used simultaneously by sighted peers, classmates and teachers in a collaborative way that can be enjoyed by everyone.

Will you be getting hold of some LEGO braille bricks for yourself or a loved one? How do you think children's toys can become even more accessible? 

WorldsoldestNEET

I've applied with LEGO many times.

Ross_Alumni

Do you mean you've applied for jobs there @WorldsoldestNEET?

leeCal

Well done Lego, I wonder why it’s taken so many years for them to do this. Better late than never though ?

janer1967

Thanks for sharing with us that is a great new invention there that I hope will help lots of children

I love lego but admit I find it too hard to do now with my sight always used to buy some for mny son so I could end up doing it 

Ross_Alumni

leeCal said:

Well done Lego, I wonder why it’s taken so many years for them to do this. Better late than never though ?

A very good question, a question which could apply in so many circumstances where accessibility has been implemented way after it should have. But yeah a big well done to LEGO, it's a fantastic initiative. 

Likewise @janer1967, I don't have the hand eye coordination or eye for detail to be able to build anything fantastic, but hopefully these braille bricks will ensure that sight impaired children can grow up with LEGO and experience the thrill of building something for the first time. I want to learn braille someday, so the educational benefits of these bricks may even be of use to me.

Geoark

A huge part of the success of Lego has been its ongoing innovative attitude. Yes it could have probably been done earlier, but over the years it has moved with new technologies and opportunities. Perhaps one reason for this move is it is the right time for them to do so; just as likely it responded to feedback from its users. As a company it has faced a lot of criticism for it innovative nature. Whatever the reason, well done.

WorldsoldestNEET

Yep. At least once a year since I moved to South-East Wales. Biggest store in the region is Cardiff, I believe.

Ross_Alumni

Very good point @Geoark, thanks for commenting It's definitely a great thing. As you say, whether it could have been done sooner or not, it's still a very positive step forward for the children's toys sector.  

Ah okay, I'm sorry you didn't get the role then @WorldsoldestNEET.

WorldsoldestNEET

Can't rly get a role I can't apply for now can I?

66Mustang

I think this is a really nice idea from LEGO

WestHam06

This is fantastic idea by Lego and I hope it can be enjoyed by many children and adults with visual impairments around the world. As @Ross_Scope said I too would love to learn to read braille, currently I am just starting to try to teach myself sign language after trying a taster session. Thank you @Ross_Scope for sharing this with us. Thank you.