legos

Reading, writing, arithmetic, and...robots?

First personal computers crept into the classroom, followed by smart phones and tablets. Now, it's robots.

Media research company Latitude finds that robots have great potential as education tools. A study published today, which was done in collaboration with Lego Learning Institute, said robotics open up new ways of learning by blurring the line between play and work. Robots can also help students work at their own pace and enhance their ability to be self-directed, according to the study.

"Education and learning are moving, at least in many children's eyes, beyond acts of knowledge transmission toward acts … Read more

Man proposes with fantastic Lego video

There are a million ways to signal your everlasting love for someone. You could propose while skydiving. Or you could get married in Second Life. But asking someone to marry you with Legos in a wonderful, poetic, stop motion video may take the cake.

Over at the Huffington Post this evening, there's the very touching story of Walt Thompson, who "invested 22 hours shooting and 'God knows how long' editing this stop-motion LEGO marriage proposal for his girlfriend of four years, Nealey Dozier."

Thompson told the HuffPo that he'd kept the project a secret from his … Read more

Crave 71: Princess Leia's dirty secret (podcast)

"Star Wars" is great, but "Star Wars" on your head is much better. The Crave team discusses this idea in depth in this first episode of 2012, along with Jell-O dispensers for grown-ups, StarCraft in Legos, and harmonizing hobbits.

Subscribe in iTunes SD Video | Subscribe in RSS SD Video … Read more

Crave 70: Buying back the '80s (podcast)

For our last Crave of 2011, Bonnie and Donald revisit the '80s with a retro Walkman case, bad Apple fashions, and a look at Crave photo submissions that have been Instagrammed into blurry, oversaturated works of art.

And whether it's by ground or by sea, Crave has the latest high-tech methods for risking your life in pursuit of fun. In Geek News, Lego goes LOTR, and Batman goes Lego.

Subscribe in iTunes SD Video | Subscribe in RSS SD Video … Read more

1960s 'Batman' in Lego form: Biff! Bam! Pow!

I'm a little conflicted about the 1960s "Batman" show.

On one hand, it was a campy show that has given us more than 40 years of lame headlines with Biff! Bam! Pow! any time there's a comic-book-related story.

On the other hand, there's Julie Newmar.

Same thing goes for Lego. I love building stuff with them (sometimes I let my kids help me, too), but I'm not so wild about their tendency to turn into caltrops when I'm walking around barefoot.

But if you mix Lego and Batman, it's like alchemy. The Lego Batman video game was a hit at our house, so I have a feeling this video will be, too. Thanks to 15-year-old French-Canadian animator and YouTuber "LGFB," we can enjoy the opening sequence to "Batman" as nature intended: in Lego form. … Read more

Lego for girls: Wait, what?

Sometimes, information will stop you and make you reconsider your world view.

"Indianapolis Colts win," did it for me today. So did a Bloomberg Businessweek headline that said: "Lego is For Girls."

I had never considered Lego to be anything other than a precursor to an engineering job. Some people make it, some don't. Most of those people seem to be boys.

But I'd never imagined that Lego would find the need to launch a special line of toys specifically for girls. Yet here we have, debuting in 2012, Brick Barbie. Not, not quite. … Read more

Lego locks in 'Lord of the Rings' and 'Hobbit' deals

Lego plus "Lord of the Rings." Need we say more?

It's not at all clear exactly what Lego has planned, but the iconic toy company said today that it is launching in 2012 a new LOTR line of, well, something.

Still, it seems obvious that what we'll be seeing is a "Lord of the Rings" themed Lego set, or sets. And that's because the extremely cagey Web site for the project features what I can only presume is Frodo--a Lego version of him, that is--holding on to a very large shiny ring.

This … Read more

'Brick' breaker: Lego bible too racy for Sam's Club

For more than 10 years, Brendan Smith has been telling the story of the Bible in a very unusual way: with Legos.

Through his hit Web site and three popular books, Smith has spread the gospel of "The Brick Testament." But now, because of what it says are concerns about "mature content," Sam's Club, one of the nation's largest retailers, has banned in-store sales of the fourth book in the series, "The Brick Bible."

On his Web site, Smith's Brick Testament contains a series of interpretations of sexually suggestive passages of … Read more

Yes, Leia, there is a Yoda Santa--made of Legos (photos)

SAN FRANCISCO--Brick by brick, visitors to San Francisco's Union Square are taking part in a fantastically geeky holiday treat: helping to build a 12-foot-tall, 10-foot-wide Santa Yoda. The event, which takes place this weekend, is part of a Lucasfilm and Lego promotion for the launch of www.legosantayoda.com, a Web site that will soon let you send Star Wars-themed holiday greeting cards. For each virtual greeting shared, Lego will donate one new Lego toy to the United States Marine Corps' Toys for Tots program, up to 1 million toys. The public is invited to come out and help … Read more