Lego School Promises The Building Blocks To Successful Learning

For many children, attending a Lego school is the ultimate fantasy; but for some lucky few, it is about to become a reality. A newly refurbished building in Billund, Denmark will open its doors in August to become the world’s first-ever Lego school. Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen, the billionaire owner of Lego, hopes that the International School of Billund will put the town on the map as "the Capital of Children." Through the combination of inquiry-based learning (centered around children generating their own questions), an emphasis on creativity and play, Danish school systems, and the International Baccalaureate program, the school hopes to provide its students with the tools to "think" and "do" in their chosen careers. The headteacher of the school, British physicist-turned-international-school-tsar Richard Matthews, plans to experiment with various timetabling methods to allow for creativity, play, and getting into a state of flow, which is at the center of Lego’s philosophy. Matthews says the school’s children’s education comes first, but he believes in the importance of experimental learning. Although some parents have expressed concern over the experimental nature of the school, there has already been plenty of interest from parents, and Lego’s endorsement of the school is likely to ensure its financial success. The school will be subsidized, with the government paying two-thirds of fees and parents covering the remaining third. Although the school is for children aged 3 to 7, it plans to expand to accommodate pupils up to 16 by 2015. There is no doubt that the opening of the Lego school is something special and remarkable, and it will be exciting to see how this experiment shapes up for the future.