LEGO® Bricks (LEGO Bricks)
Research Area: Educational Demonstrations
Expedition(s): 27- 30
Principal Investigator(s): ● The Lego Group, Billund, Denmark
RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
The LEGO® Bricks payload is a series of toy LEGO kits that are assembled in orbit and used to
demonstrate scientific concepts. Some of these models include satellites, a space shuttle
orbiter, and a scale model of the International Space Station (ISS).
EARTH BENEFITS
The LEGO® Group and LEGO® Education use the LEGO® Brick and LEGO® kits to teach
fundamental Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics concepts to a variety of
students worldwide. These educational activities are geared for students ages 4-18 and offer a
unique setting for students to investigate topics such as forces and motion, simple machines,
renewable energy, and robotics. The release of new products, the website, and along with the
supporting of future education, gives the space program a new boost and offers many
possibilities for young students.
SPACE BENEFITS
The LEGO® Brick is widely well-known throughout the
world. NASA partnering with this company makes the
U.S. space program highly visible to a new audience. The
LEGO® Group has developed a new commercial line
titled “LEGO® Space City” that premiers in the U.S. in
early 2011. This new product features vehicles and
models directly from NASA real-life vehicles. To
accompany this, the Lego Group is launching a new
LEGO® Space website that NASA can link to. The release
of new products, the website, and the support of future
education, gives the space program a new boost and
offers many possibilities for young students.RESULTS
NASA has partnered with the LEGO Group to develop
innovative educational materials and activities. This
partnership, documented in a Space Act Agreement
between the 2 organizations, is designed to support
NASA’s educational programs in exploration, technology,
science, and aeronautics. This opportunity provides the
unique learning environment of microgravity to promote
student interest in STEM content and careers. To
accomplish this task, LEGO kits are flown aboard the ISS.Students used LEGOs to 'Build the Future' at
NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape
Canaveral, Fla, on Wednesday, Nov. 3,
- The 'Build the Future' event was part
of pre-launch activities for the STS-133
mission. These events occur throughout the
NASA/Lego partnership. Bill Ingalis/NASA
image.