Lego is a popular construction toy . The word LEGO is a trademark for the plastic toy bricks created by The LEGO Group, one of the world’s largest toy makers. LEGO products encourage children’s learning and creativity through unlimited building possibilities.
The first LEGO bricks were developed by Ole Kirk Kristiansen (also spelled Christiansen), a carpenter in Denmark . Kristiansen founded a toy company in Billund in 1932, originally to make high-quality wooden toys. In 1934, he named his company LEGO, from the Danish words leg godt, meaning play well.
In 1946, Kristiansen bought a plastic molding machine. Shortly thereafter, he began creating plastic building blocks. The blocks had studs on top and were hollow underneath, so they could be stacked easily. However, they did not hold together when pushed or turned upside-down.
In 1958, Kristiansen’s son Godtfried, who took over management of the company, improved the design by adding hollow tubes inside the bricks. With this modification, bricks held together until they were deliberately pulled apart. The new interlocking LEGO’s allowed children to build any type of object. As LEGO sales expanded, the company continued to introduce new parts and colors to the system. For instance, LEGO minifigures were introduced in 1978.
In 1968, The LEGO Group opened its first amusement park , in Billund. The company now operates parks in several other countries, including Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The amusement parks feature large items built with LEGO bricks, as well as LEGO-themed rides. In 2017, the LEGO company opened LEGO House in Billund. The attraction, which contains exhibition and play areas, is constructed of giant white bricks to resemble a LEGO creation.
In addition to expanding internationally, LEGO also created new products for children of different ages. In 1969, the company introduced the DUPLO series of bricks for younger children. They began creating more complex models for older children and teens in the mid-1970’s. In 1998, LEGO unveiled a computerized building system called Mindstorms. Mindstorms sets include computers, motors, and sensors that allow children and teens to build robots . Many schools use this system to encourage students’ interest in science and engineering.
LEGO play sets are sold throughout the world. The company produces a wide range of sets with transportation and architecture themes. In 1999, the company acquired the right to produce sets based on the Star Wars franchise. Since then, LEGO has expanded its licensing to other movies, television series, and video games, in addition to creating its own themes. The company has also created LEGO movies, television programs, video games, and comic books. The LEGO Group is based in Billund.
