NASA and LEGO collaborate to inspire children about science and technology

NASA and LEGO collaborate to inspire children about science and technology

2010-11-03 03:47:38 GMT+7 (ICT)

CAPE CANAVERAL, FLORIDA (BNO NEWS) -- The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) on Tuesday announced the signing of a Space Act Agreement with LEGO Group to inspire children into science, technology, engineering and math.

To commemorate the agreement, a small LEGO space shuttle will launch with the crew of the space shuttle Discovery on its final STS-133 mission that is scheduled to launch on Wednesday from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

NASA and LEGO signed a three-year agreement that will use NASA's space exploration missions and the popular LEGO bricks as an inspiration to get children's interest in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).

"Partnering with The LEGO Group is a perfect fit," said Leland Melvin, NASA's associate administrator for Education. "We have taken the excitement of NASA's missions and coupled that with kids' love of creating things with the iconic LEGO bricks."

Under the "Building and Exploring Our Future" campaign, LEGO will release four NASA-inspired products next year. The items will be part of its LEGO CITY line and they will vary in terms of complexity in order to engage from young children to adults as well.

"These projects not only foster creativity but also instill in the young builders a real sense of the engineering and design principles that NASA uses every day. Fun learning activities like these can help inspire kids to become the next generation of explorers," Melvin added.

As part of the agreement, NASA will send special LEGO sets to the International Space Station (ISS) aboard shuttle Endeavor during its STS-134 mission next February. Such sets will be assembled by the astronauts while on space in order to demonstrate the challenges faced when building things in the microgravity environment of space.

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