Excellent as an activity to start off the day or program as it gives participants the opportunity to get the innovative juices flowing!
Materials
- LEGOs or any other construction toy
Framing
The more we do something, the more it becomes easier. The more mistakes we make, the more we learn. The more we are challenged, the better our ability to problem-solve becomes.
Instructions
- Challenge your group to create whatever is on the chosen card, either one card to challenge the whole group, or a few different cards to challenge each participant uniquely.
- The challenges are colour-coded in order from easiest to most difficult: grey, turquoise, yellow, red-orange. Begin with a grey card to assess their abilities. If the get have done grey challenges a few times or they generally find the grey cards too easier because they are an older group, move on to one of the other colours.
Modify
- Make up your own challenges.
- For older groups, set other parameters like limiting the time or number of LEGOs.
Safety
- The number 1 concern for safety would be one around emotion regulation. It is possible that some participants may get particularly frustrated and thus as a facilitator you must ensure that you aren’t over-challenging your participants and support them throughout the entire process.
Wrap-up
Have your participants explain to you, or the whole group, what they created and how they created it.
How many LEGO pieces did they use?
- What colours?
- What influenced them to make it that way?
- What is different or similar about each participant’s creation? What can we learn from this?
Adapted from: Hollowell, Malia. “Lego Challenge Cards.” The Stem Laboratory. Last updated 15, 2015. Retrieved May 29, 2018, online from: https://thestemlaboratory.com/lego-challenge-cards/