The Danish toy manufacturer Lego announced, on Wednesday (18), the launch of the Spike Essentials line as part of the company’s learning system. Created in 1980, Lego Education has been present in educational institutions in several countries, including Brazil, since 1998.
Spike Essentials arrives as a support material for teachers to encourage their elementary school students (1st to 5th grades) specifically in the so-called STEAM subjects (initials in English for Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Mathematics).
Introduced as a cross-curricular STEAM solution, the Lego Education Spike Essentials kit serves as a “meaningful joke” that seeks to engage students in the practical investigation of these five disciplines. During the process, everyone is challenged to become resilient and independent thinkers.
What is Spike Essentials stuff?
Spike Essentials comes in the form of five fun course units, with seven to eight lessons of six to ten hours of teaching material each. The kit also includes five hardware components and 449 Lego bricks, including spare parts. Rounding out the suite is the Spike app, a selection of unit plans, and online support.
Key actors in the interaction process with students are the minifigures that accompany the kit. There are four characters, all with their own names, life stories and personal interests, in order to arouse empathy in children. There are two girls and two boys, one of them, Daniel, a wheelchair user.
The price of each Spike Essentials kit is $274.95 (about R$1,500). Sales are only available in pre-order form on the Lego website at this link. The material, for now, is restricted to the United States, but will be available to the general public starting next month.
