How LEGOs Are Helping Kids Learn Braille

Children with visual impairments will soon have a new, creative way to learn Braille. The LEGO Foundation and LEGO Group announced yesterday at a conference in Paris that the company would be launching Braille Bricks kits in 2020. Each set has about 250 bricks containing studs that represent the letters and numbers of the Braille alphabet, which empowers people to learn spelling and punctuation, read books, type on a keyboard, and more.

In the U.S., only 10 percent of blind children are learning to read Braille, according to the National Federation of the Blind. Philippe Chazal, treasurer of the European Blind Union, says this trend—which extends beyond the U.S.—is due to the availability of audiobooks and computer programs. “This is particularly critical when we know that Braille users often are more independent, have a higher level of education, and better employment opportunities,” Chazal said in a statement. “We strongly believe LEGO Braille Bricks can help boost the level of interest in learning Braille, so we’re thrilled that the LEGO Foundation is making it possible to further this concept and bring it to children around the world.”

The idea was originally pitched to LEGO in 2011 by the Danish Association of the Blind, and a Brazil-based foundation also supported the concept in 2017. Currently, the Braille Brick prototypes are being tested in Denmark, Brazil, Norway, and the UK, with each set being adapted to the predominant language spoken in those regions.

Because braille is a tactile alphabet rather than a language, it can be used in just about any language, including Chinese, Arabic, and Hebrew. LEGO also plans to test French, Spanish, and German versions of the Braille Bricks this year. The kits will be provided free of charge to some organizations around the world.

Check out the video below to learn more about the project.