Dr. Bo Stjerne Thomsen on The Future of LEGO Education

In this episode of the Getting Smart Podcast, we explore LEGOs exciting new venture into science education with their latest K-8 curriculum. Tom Vander Ark chats with Dr. Bo Stjerne Thomsen, head of LEGO Education, about how this innovative, inquiry-based learning approach is set to transform classrooms by integrating hands-on science experiences aligned with NGSS standards. Designed to reignite students’ curiosity and creativity, these engaging kits are perfect for fostering critical thinking and collaboration. Join us as we delve into how LEGO’s playful learning strategies can make science fun and accessible, ensuring that every child can experience the joy of discovery and learning. Listen in to find out how these resources are reshaping the educational landscape for both traditional and micro-schools.

Outline

• (00:47) LEGO’s New Science Curriculum Announcement
• (01:31) Insights from Bo Stern Thompson on LEGO Education
• (05:05) Details of the New Curriculum and Its Implementation
• (21:22) Future Prospects and Conclusion

LEGO’s New Science Curriculum Announcement

Tom Vander Ark: LEGO is the best name in play. LEGO’s probably the biggest toy manufacturer in the world, and some would argue the best brand in the world. And this week LEGO announced a new elementary science curriculum. I’m Tom Vander Ark. You’re listening to the Getting Smart Podcast. And here to talk about that new science curriculum is the head of educational impact at LEGO Education, Bo Stjerne Thomsen.

Hello, Bo.

Bo Stjerne Thomsen: Tom, thank you for having me. Thank you.

Tom Vander Ark: Hey, it’s great to have you here. We got to know each other over the last 12 years. So I just wanted to start by acknowledging the important work that you did there to help us all understand the importance of play. So thank you for that.

Bo Stjerne Thomsen: Thank you so much.

Insights from Bo Stjerne Thompsen on LEGO Education

Bo Stjerne Thomsen: It’s been an amazing journey over the past decade, and I am equally amazed now that we’re able to implement and apply a lot of these insights and that movement into LEGO Education now. So it’s a great opportunity and a great need to do that right now.

Tom Vander Ark: Bo, I think about a year ago, you moved to LEGO from the foundation to LEGO Education. Is that right?

Bo Stjerne Thomsen: Yes, I spent a few years living in the US and developing the LEGO Foundation work there. But about a year ago I transitioned into heading up education impact in LEGO Education.

Tom Vander Ark: I think some of our audience is super familiar with LEGO. I, for one, am a LEGO granddad and spend a lot of time in LEGOland with my kids. So I super appreciate the LEGO brand and LEGO legacy from that standpoint. But what’s the origin of LEGO Education?

Bo Stjerne Thomsen: Absolutely. That’s a good question. Because most people are familiar with the LEGO brand and the LEGO group and the LEGO product that fans all over the world are excited about, and for many the LEGO brick is partly educational because children are naturally engaged and they problem solve and are creative when they come up with different concepts, ideas, and things they build.

But we have a dedicated business unit called LEGO Education, which is part of the LEGO group, but it actually has existed for almost 50 years. It’s a team of educators and innovators who are building hands-on playful learning experiences, directly targeting education.

So what we are doing is actually looking at the educational outcomes and the standards that exist in school and formal education, and then we provide and utilize LEGO Education solutions and LEGO bricks and technologies to support hands-on engaging learning experiences in classrooms.

Tom Vander Ark: And was it also LEGO Education that partnered with Dean Kamen and really launched the First LEGO League?

Bo Stjerne Thomsen: So we’ve had a longstanding relationship with Dean and First LEGO League. And also many might recall or have seen LEGO Education in terms of our collaboration with institutions like MIT Media Lab on LEGO Mindstorms. So 20 years ago, that was really the big leap we took in supporting robotics generally in First LEGO League, but also in out-of-school settings and in some instances in school as well.

Tom Vander Ark: I’m super excited about the progress we’ve seen in LEGO First Robotics. I guess I think that’s become even more important than ever. It was a great idea when it launched, but it’s just a terrific opportunity for particularly middle-grade and upper-elementary students to step into robotics problem-solving and do it in a fun, collaborative way. So just congrats on all the progress there.

Bo Stjerne Thomsen: Thank you. Thank you so much. And I think that is literally what is happening right now. We are taking all that knowledge from our 50-year journey and all the experience we’ve had with children and students, and then we are now aiming to transform the core classroom. To ensure that they can have the same kind of engaging experience with hands-on materials, even in a core classroom that has standards and 45-minute constraints that educators are working under.

So that’s the new leap: to target the in-school core topics.

Details of the New Curriculum and Its Implementation

Tom Vander Ark: So tell us about this announcement. You’ve had supplemental products, but core curriculum and elementary—are those the big headlines?

Bo Stjerne Thomsen: Yeah. So we have our Lego Education solutions on the market, but what we’re really launching now is called Lego Education Science. We believe that there are too many students who say that science isn’t really for them. And there’s such a need to change that attitude and provide a more positive association with science.

For us, science is a natural starting point. Children are natural scientists. They want to experiment and explore and test and try out things. But unfortunately, that’s not necessarily the standard approach we see in the everyday classroom—that children and students are engaged. So now we’re introducing LEGO Education Science, which is an inquiry-based hands-on learning product where you can actually teach the NGSS-aligned standards using hands-on learning.

At the same time, it builds that kind of student love of learning in the classroom.

Tom Vander Ark: Most of us remember our science education as being one packed with facts. For a hundred years, we focused on knowledge acquisition. You mentioned the national science standards—that’s been the beginning of a movement toward skill-building, particularly applied skill-building around knowledge acquisition. It sounds like that’s been a strength of your play-based side of the house—really skill-building through hands-on activity. Is that a feature of this curriculum?

Bo Stjerne Thomsen: Absolutely. Knowledge is important, and children and adults like to know things. So what we see is that there’s still a need for knowledge, and it is a requirement in the standards in the classroom. But we can teach it using hands-on creative activities that support critical thinking and collaboration.

So it’s actually not in opposition to each other, but children learn much more deeply when they can take real-life physical products and represent the science concepts in a hands-on way. That drives engagement. So basically, it’s better understood and articulated when you have materials that directly represent these in the classroom. That’s the approach we are introducing now.

Tom Vander Ark: So how does it work? Is it online plus hands-on kits, or how have you organized it?

Bo Stjerne Thomsen: So basically, we have a LEGO box. It’s a new product that is designed for groups of four students. There’s one box for K–2, one box for grades 3–5, and one box for grades 6–8. And that box includes hands-on materials and technologies like a motor and a sensor.

But it also includes 120 lessons. So basically, we have developed lessons that are regularly aligned to the science standards that are being taught, and it supports educators. So educators get the online teacher platform. They have a classroom presentation and activities that directly spark children’s curiosity and then use the materials.

So it’s standards-aligned, hands-on materials—simple and impactful for educators to use in the classroom.

Tom Vander Ark: Are there assessments built in, or are there associated assessments? What’s the assessment strategy?

Bo Stjerne Thomsen: That’s a very good question. So we believe that assessment is a natural part of the learning process. So we are equipping the product with tools for teachers so they can observe things in the classroom. But also, at the end of each lesson, there are reflections that allow you to revisit the knowledge and the standards you have obtained.

So it’s an integrated part of the lesson structure. And so it’s an inquiry-based, hands-on learning approach that supports that.

Tom Vander Ark: Do those kits include any materials that might be familiar, or are you bringing forward any of the products from LEGO Education? Or does it include new products and new manipulatives?

Bo Stjerne Thomsen: Yeah. So it is a new product. It’s obviously based on the history of LEGO Education and the LEGO system. So you can build and combine the materials with the LEGO system and LEGO Education solutions. But it is a new motor, a new sensor, and a little controller as well. So it includes aspects of things, but still, it can manipulate—they can move things around, they can observe data, and so forth.

So it’s a package of materials.

Tom Vander Ark: Some LEGO geeks will remember LEGO Mindstorms, which was around for 20 years.

Bo Stjerne Thomsen: 25 years, yeah.

Tom Vander Ark: So this is really a new generation of electronics, a new LEGO operating system. Is that fair?

Bo Stjerne Thomsen: Absolutely. So we actually went back and thought deeply about how to transform the core classroom—thinking about what LEGO Education has been doing for decades in terms of the out-of-school environment and, to some degree, enrichment. How do we find something that is simple and impactful to be the standard way of teaching in the classroom?

So we have now designed a product that has no cables. The motor and the sensor can talk to each other with a few connection cards. And actually, you don’t need screens. There are no screens required. Children can represent physical movement, play with genetics and life science, and more—all by just using the hands-on materials without computers and screens.

In that case, we’ve radically simplified things. And we’ve done that by listening to teachers, administrators, and students—not only through a large-scale survey to understand what science looks like right now and the barriers to teaching it, but also by testing the products with thousands of students in hundreds of classrooms. This has allowed us to figure out how we can integrate something that’s deeply meaningful and relevant for educators.

Tom Vander Ark: Learning design question—how is the curriculum organized? Are the lessons built around projects, units of study, or inquiry units? What does a typical task look like? How long does it last? Are they sequential in nature?

Bo Stjerne Thomsen: Very good question. Over the past decades, we’ve studied all different types of pedagogical approaches—particularly the work done by the LEGO Foundation but also with many of our research partners. We’ve looked at the most straightforward ways to provide students with more agency and choice in the classroom—approaches that support engagement and drive deeper learning outcomes.

The methodology we’ve adapted is inquiry-based, hands-on learning. Basically, it follows a sequence of the 5E model in inquiry. This means there’s one big question in the beginning that directly relates to the science standard. We link it to the NGSS standards and a key question that deeply engages and interests children in the first 5–10 minutes of the lesson.

Then they collaborate using the materials, building different ideas, exploring concepts, and sharing at the end. It means that our 120 lessons are directly aligned to NGSS standards. No matter what curriculum you’re following in each state, we map it onto the NGSS standards and adapt to local variations. But if you follow our curriculum, it aligns back to the standards.

We’re not saying this is a completely new curriculum that replaces everything else. Instead, it can also be used as a supplement to existing curricula, as the materials directly articulate science concepts.

Tom Vander Ark: And with this announcement, are you covering the elementary grades?

Bo Stjerne Thomsen: Yes, we’re going from K to grade 8.

Tom Vander Ark: All right, here’s the tough question, Bo. I love the idea of hands-on science. These units sound great. I like the organization of the kits. But it sounds expensive. Doing hands-on science has typically been expensive because it requires a lot of equipment. So how do you think about the cost as part of your go-to-market strategy?

Bo Stjerne Thomsen: We have really optimized every aspect of what we’ve done to create a high-quality product that allows us to teach effectively. The box for K–2 is $329, and for the upper grades, it’s around $400 to $500.

So, basically, the boxes are, as we see it, within the range of what you would usually buy a science toolkit for. What’s really remarkable is that you can transform a classroom from a passive space, often dependent on papers and screens, into one where the majority of the NGSS-aligned standards can be taught using that box.

With that kind of price range, we believe it will be very realistic for classrooms.

Tom Vander Ark: It sounds like it’s modular, where you would buy kits in units of four. So for the more kids you have, you would buy more kits?

Bo Stjerne Thomsen: Yes, there will be classroom bundles. We announced it this week, and the kits will begin shipping in August. It’s definitely a classroom experience, and it’s designed for groups of students.

We’ve also been able to design and test how students can work together to explore science concepts, listen to each other, and help each other out while still providing something that is unique.

Tom Vander Ark: I like the idea of classroom bundles. But the fact that it’s organized around groups of four students makes it sound like it could scale down well for small schools or micro-schools. If you have a small school with four, eight, or 16 kids in a grade level, this seems like a uniquely good solution. Is that fair?

Bo Stjerne Thomsen: I think it could also be a good solution for that. We’re just excited to see how schools can begin to give much more agency and choice to students in science, in particular.

I think the key challenge we’ve seen is that engagement drives so much of the learning outcomes.

Tom Vander Ark: Bo, I really appreciate your focus on engagement. It’s just criminal that we’ve made science boring. Science is so much fun—it’s interesting and engaging. I love that it sounds like that’s been a real driver for you.

Bo Stjerne Thompsen: Engagement has been a main driver. The starting point for this was actually a big survey we conducted with 6,000 people—including educators, administrators, and parents—to understand the opportunities that drive engagement.

What we found was that children are not engaged right now. Teachers also say they don’t feel equipped to engage students. They don’t understand how to effectively use the resources and different types of science materials they’re given.

At the same time, both teachers and parents believe science education is absolutely critical—not just for knowledge but because it supports curiosity, critical thinking, and problem-solving. It integrates that kind of knowledge and skills perspective we’re all looking for.

So if we are able to provide hands-on engagement, we’re not only supporting students in having that greater joy of learning, but we’re also improving learning outcomes. And we’re helping educators have a more enriching experience in the classroom.

We know it also drives higher test scores in the end, but for us, it’s most important that any student has that kind of excitement and heartfelt experience with science that, right now, only a few get.

Tom Vander Ark: As an engineer and tinkerer, I’d love to dive into some of these kits. I’m just thinking about the fun things I could explore with my nine-year-old granddaughter. Do you have a couple of favorite units, Bo, that you can describe? Give us an example of something cool that you think people will be excited about.

Bo Stjerne Thompsen: Absolutely. It’s really interesting because we can teach across so many domains—physical science, life science, earth science, and engineering and technology.

For example, in life science, one of the questions is: What will a baby dragon look like? That’s the starting point for a lesson. Students are asked to build two parent dragons. Once they’ve built the parents, they discuss what the offspring would look like if these were the parents. It’s a reflection on traits and inheritance—connecting to plants, animals, and nature. Through this simple activity, students begin to understand genetics in a hands-on way.

Another example is in physical science. A lesson might ask: Can you feel the beat? Students build a small mechanism that hits a drum. As they test it, they discover how energy transfers from one material to another and transforms into sound. These small, engaging activities take just five minutes to start and allow students to collaborate, build, and share their findings.

Tom Vander Ark: At Getting Smart, we’re big fans of outdoor and place-based education. Are there ways that schools could augment your curriculum with natural observations or outdoor learning?

Bo Stjerne Thomsen: I think we are now targeting transforming the classroom experience. We’re not saying this replaces outdoor experiences or other materials, but this is a unique, simple, and impactful way to create more active engagement for students.

Many of the activities relate to things you can find outside. For example, in earth science, students explore questions about the environment, like earth, water, and landscapes. Teachers can use real-life examples as inspiration, have students step outside to make observations, and then come back to the classroom to build and reflect on their findings.

We are always looking to make these lessons meaningful by connecting them to the real world.

Tom Vander Ark: All right. What’s the big takeaway for the teacher leaders listening? Whaft’s the most exciting thing about LEGO Science?

Bo Stjerne Thomsen: We are excited because we’re providing engaging, hands-on materials that are directly aligned with the outcomes and standards educators need to teach in the classroom.

Usually, you see a lot of different materials that are either complex to use or not necessarily fit for purpose. What we’ve done is design a product specifically for the standards, with the right materials to support teaching science in a meaningful way.

When educators teach science using LEGO Education Science, they’re not just addressing the curriculum—they’re also fostering creativity, critical thinking, and collaboration. It’s an integration of knowledge, skills, and curiosity that creates a positive attitude toward learning. That’s what makes this so exciting.

Future Prospects and Conclusion

Tom Vander Ark: Love it. And I know it’s early, but any chance you’ll step into high school?

Bo Stjerne Thomsen: Right now, we have so many ideas and opportunities. At the moment, we’re focused on equipping grades K–8. Over the next year, we’ll see how the space evolves.

There’s definitely a lot of potential, particularly if we can make education more engaging at the high school level. But for now, we’re keeping our focus on K–8.

Tom Vander Ark: Hey, we’ve been talking to Dr. Bo Stjerne Thomsen. He announced an exciting new LEGO Science Curriculum for K–8. That’s super exciting. Thanks for sharing it with us and our audience, Bo. It’s great to see you, and congrats on this new chapter.

Bo Stjerne Thomsen: Absolutely. Thank you so much for your interest.

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Dr. Bo Stjerne Thomsen

Dr. Bo is an executive leader, learning expert, and design thinker, with more than 20 years of international experience working across education, technology, and design, aiming to create significant, sustainable, and lasting social impact. He has been privileged to work with partners and communities across more than 50 countries to reach millions of children, supported passionate leaders and educators, and contributed to life-transforming programs and global advocacy. He has led $20M partnerships, a portfolio of more than $80M in international projects, developed $100M country strategies, and led multidisciplinary teams to change education systems, built creative learning environments, and innovate organizations.

Links

• Watch the full video here
• LinkedIn
• Bo Stjerne Thomsen
• EdWeek Feature
• Lego Education Science
• LEGO Education Science Press Release