The LEGO® Movie puts engineering on the big screen in the hands of an assortment of plastic master builders and superheroes from various time periods and realms who come together to challenge Lord Business and the superior threat of Kragle. What they engineer in their quest to stop the Kragle will inspire students, teachers, and parents. If you aren't singing the awesome virtues of engineering yet, you should be! Note: You can find out more about the movie and watch video trailers on the official LEGO Movie site or on the LEGO site. If you've seen the LEGO® Movie, then you know, "Everything is awesome. Everything is cool when you're part of a team." And, maybe... everything is awesome when you trust yourself, build what you want, imagine what isn't already written in a manual, and see yourself as special. With Engineers Week this week, the timing for the smash LEGO Movie feels pretty, well, awesome. The importance of strengthening and encouraging science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education for K-12 students is an important topic of discussion, and on the heels of the great GoldieBlox ad during last month's Super Bowl game, a movie devoted to highlighting what is possible when you celebrate and combine ingenuity, innovation, and the spirit of engineering has all the makings of a blockbuster.
No matter what angle you approach it from, there is something to like in the LEGO Movie, even if a toddler seated behind you stands up the entire movie with his face wedged on the back edge of your seat and babbles throughout. There is something to like even if you think you have a toe a bit too far into teenhood to still play with LEGO. This is a feel-good movie that budding engineers, creative types, parents, kids, vehicle enthusiasts, and all fans of pink unicorn kitties are sure to enjoy. Maybe you really love the fact that the first master builder who whirls into quick-as-a-flash building view is Wyldstyle, aka Lucy, a perfect big screen moment for inspiring and applauding girls interested in STEM. Maybe you love Batman's wry persona and his comment about building only in black, and sometimes a very, very dark grey. Maybe you like Emmet's morning routines, all by the instruction manual, including some pretty fierce jumping jacks. Maybe you really liked the appearance of a floating, dangling, glowing-eyed, Ghost Vitruvious.
Maybe you really liked Benny the astronaut who can snap together a space ship out of whatever parts are on hand. Depending on where you live (or in which realm), maybe you chuckled over the overpriced coffee. Or maybe you liked the aha moment when you finally realized what the "piece of resistance" really is in the context of the story. The movie is full of great moments that may strike a chord with viewers of all ages in ways both obvious and subtle. As a parent, I liked the movie on many levels. We have zillions of bricks in the house from years gone by, and I fondly remember our days of "instruction manual" building as well as our days of free-form building. I loved the way master builders in the movie looked around at piles of bricks and pieces and saw, instantly, the different kinds of elements they needed, complete with the LEGO part ID numbers. Watching the master builders in the movie quickly assess the problem, the moment, the dire necessity, and whip up something amazing from salvaged and reclaimed bricks was very cool.
But Emmet's solution for the broken wheel axle during an early wagon escape scene was also right on track for the way engineers think on their feet (or with their heads) as they create and innovate needed solutions. His double-decker couch may have inspired some laughter, but in the end, it helped Emmet and a core group of characters escape, its real functionality emerging as an accidental discovery—something that happens in science and engineering all the time! Ultimately, throughout the movie, viewers see the engineering design process in action. Things are built and rebuilt over and over and over again—with or without a manual. Engineering is fun and awesome. If the movie inspired you and your kids and made you think about the buckets, bins, and baskets of LEGO bricks that have wound their way into the basement or storage or a closet, pull them out again and see what happens when you encourage your kids to take a fresh look and think and build beyond the instruction booklet.
The following science project ideas can be turned on their heads to give students new building experiences and challenges: If your older kids are using LEGO Mindstorms, don't miss the great array of Mindstorms projects in the robotics area at Science Buddies. Follow these, as written, or use the ideas as starting points for launching your own building projects and engineering or robotics investigations: (These projects work with older Mindstorms kits or the new EV3 model.) What you build will be awesome—because you build it! Science on the Dark Side Did the Kragle in the movie make your brain buzz? Did you spot the scene at the end where the humans are un-gluing structures that had been super-glued in perfect place? Did you cringe at the sad moment when Good Cop, Bad Cop's good face was wiped clean? These moments invite all kinds of science questions about glues, adhesives, and solvents. Explore science connections with other movies and popular culture examples.
The LEGO Minecraft theme continues in 2017 with a number of sets and the first one I’ll be reviewing is The Waterfall Base (21134). The set contains 729 pieces and retails for $69.99. The contents of the box includes five numbered bags and two instruction booklets. The Venetian Houses by McMarco is the latest project to achieve 10,000 supporters on LEGO Ideas. It features a double modular size model that shows a couple of Mediterranean buildings between a bridge and a water canal. The 4,500 brick project also includes 17 minifigures. The project now joins The Blues Mobile, SEGA Classic Arcade Machines, Dungeon Master, and Red Arrows Hawk as the projects to reach the First 2017 Review Stage. If you saw my post for the April 2017 LEGO Store Calendar, you probably saw that the US is finally getting the LEGO Creator Mini Volkswagen Beetle (40252) as part of a promotion. It is a 141 piece set that is basically a smaller version of the Volkswagen Beetle (10252) which was released last year.
We will be getting it from April 1-15, while supplies last, with purchases of $50 or more at LEGO Stores and on Shop@Home. The April 2017 LEGO Store Calendar is now available and we can see some of the promotions and events for the month. April 1-15: FREE LEGO Creator Mini Volkswagen Beetle (40252) with purchases of $50 or more, while supplies last. April 1-30: FREE LEGO Friends Tic Tac Toe game with a $20 LEGO Friends purchase, while supplies last. April 1: LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales The Silent Mary (71042) available to the general public. April 4-5: VIP Monthly Mini Build event for a Chick. April 1-16: Easter Egg Hunt at LEGO Stores. Find all the Easter eggs and get an Easter sticker sheet, while supplies last. April 15: VIP LEGO Friends Mini Build event. Sign up is required. April 7 & 21: Family Game Night. April 22 & 29: LEGO Life meeting. February was a pretty news heavy month and here’s a recap of some of the more popular LEGO posts from the month.
LEGO Disney Beauty and the Beast BrickHeadz Officially Announced – LEGO announced the new LEGO Disney Beauty and the Beast BrickHeadz which now available to everyone on Shop@Home for $9.99 each. LEGO Named 2017 World’s Most Powerful Brand – LEGO was named the world’s most powerful brand in the Brand Finance yearly Global 500 rankings. LEGO Dimensions Wave 8 Expansions Packs Announced – Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment announced the new LEGO Dimensions expansion packs which include The Goonies Level Pack (71267), the Hermione Fun Pack (71243), and LEGO City Fun Pack (71266). The LEGO Ninjago Movie First Trailer Released – Warner Bros. released the first official trailer for the upcoming The LEGO Ninjago Movie. LEGO House Website Now Live – LEGO launched a new website for their LEGO House which opens in September. The LEGO Batman Movie The Ultimate Batmobile (70919) Revealed – LEGO revealed one of the new The LEGO Batman Movie sets with The Ultimate Batmobile (70917).
LEGO New York Toy Fair Set Images – The 2017 New York Toy Fair kicked off and there were a lot of images for the upcoming summer 2017 LEGO sets. LEGO Marvel Super Heroes Spider-Man: Homecoming Sets Revealed – During the NY Toy Fair, some of the sets for LEGO Marvel Super Heroes Spider-Man: Homecoming were shown off. LEGO Collectible Minifigures Series 17 Revealed – Also shown off at the Toy Fair was the characters for the Series 17 LEGO Collectible Minifigures. LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales The Silent Mary (71042) Officially Revealed – The last major thing that was revealed at the Toy Fair was the LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales The Silent Mary (71042). LEGO Ideas Second 2016 Set Winner Announced – The winning LEGO Ideas project for the Second 2016 Review Stage was announced to be the Women of NASA. A reader has let me know this morning that there are some LEGO minifigure plushies that has been released in stores or will be released soon.