Lego is releasing versions of their block sets with Braille in stores for the first time.
In a news release, Lego says that the company designed the Braille bricks for anyone who is curious to learn about Braille and “can have fun getting to know the Braille system at home with their family members in a playful, inclusive way,” according to USA Today.
The bricks are aimed for children ages and older, Lego said. They are made for all whether you are blind, partially sighted or sighted.
“Play has the power to change lives; when children play, they learn vital life-long skills, so we were thrilled by the reception that LEGO Braille Bricks received in educational settings. We’ve been inundated with thousands of requests to make them more widely available, so we just knew we had to make it happen,” Rasmus Løgstrup, LEGO Group Lead Designer on LEGO Braille Bricks said in a news release.
Previously, the bricks have been available free of charge to organizations that specialize in educating children with vision impairment, USA Today reported.
Lego says the Braille Bricks come with 287 bricks in five colors that include white, yellow, green, red and blue. They will be available in stores on September 1 with pre-orders starting August 24.
“For blind and partially sighted children, and adults for that matter, it makes all the difference if they can share their journey of learning braille with the people they love the most. For the blind community, braille is not just literacy, it’s our entry to independence and inclusion into this world, and to have LEGO Braille Bricks made available for the wider public is a massive step forward to ensuring more children will want to learn braille in the first place. And because it’s based on a product that so many families already know and love, this is really an invitation for all family members to have fun building tactile skills and getting familiar with braille using the same tool,” Martine Abel-Williamson, President, World Blind Union said in a news release.
More information about the Lego Braille Bricks or other Lego products can be found on its website.