LEGO Education has launched four sets for at-home, STEM-based learning — here’s an in-depth look at all the new educational LEGO sets, with full images and analysis.
All four LEGO Education sets are available now on LEGO.com to teach your child about life and physical sciences. The sets are:
- 45200 Moon Mission Science Kit, 519 pieces, £44.99 / $49.99 / €49.99
- 45201 Antarctic Animals Science Kit, 461 pieces, £44.99 / $49.99 / €49.99
- 45202 Mars Mission Science Kit, 933 pieces, £89.99 / $99.99 / €99.99
- 45203 Arctic Animals Science Kit, 1,134 pieces, £89.99 / $99.99 / €99.99
These four sets mark the first time that LEGO Education is explicitly marketing sets for at-home learning, providing a new opportunity for children to gain experience and develop their interests in the sciences. The launch follows the changes that LEGO Education is making to the FIRST LEGO League and retirement of SPIKE.
These initial sets are split evenly between studying animals and space. If you have questions regarding how these sets differ from regular LEGO sets, you can head here. For now, here’s a full look at the images, plus initial analysis.
45200 Moon Mission Science Kit
One of two smaller sets from the range, 45200 Moon Mission Science Kit will come with 519 pieces, 2 minifigures and 2 experiments for £44.99 / $49.99 / €49.99. The set has an Earth-to-moon launchpad, a habitat and greenhouses. The experiments are centred around getting to the moon and establishing a scientific presence once there.
First, children can design a spaceship that can be launched between Earth and the lunar surface, which also needs designing to be safe for the astronauts. Once there, the astronauts seem to be experimenting with growing crops on the moon and need help building the infrastructure. The set aims to teach about lunar exploration and get children interested in what it would take to establish a presence on the moon.
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45201 Antarctic Animals Science Kit
45201 Antarctic Animals Science Kit is the other set priced at £44.99 / $49.99 / €49.99, coming with 461 pieces, 2 minifigures and 2 experiments, so the numbers-based value is essentially equal between the two sets at this price point. But this one has an entirely different subject matter, this time following scientists as they study Antarctic wildlife.
The first experiment has children guide penguins down a slope towards their seafood supper, and the second sees them design teeth to help the whale catch its own dinner. These experiments are meant to get children excited about studying wildlife and learning about how different animals live. It also looks like the scientist minifigures need some help designing their gear, too.
45202 Mars Mission Science Kit
It’s back to outer space with 45202 Mars Mission Science Kit, coming with 933 pieces, 4 minifigures and 4 experiments for £89.99 / $99.99 / €99.99. This set’s experiments centre around shielding equipment from asteroids, developing a rover, creating a gravity-testing drop pod and what looks to be a spinning and/or balancing experiment.
This set is all about living on Mars and helping children learn about all the difficulties that come with trying to colonise the Red Planet. Though the rock-launching catapult probably isn’t the most realistic depiction of those challenges. But it should make for some good fun.
45203 Arctic Animals Science Kit
45203 Arctic Animals Science Kit is the last of the bunch and shows an interesting focus on snowy wildlife for the range’s life sciences. This one will have the most bang for your buck from a price-per-piece standpoint, coming with 1,134 pieces, 4 minifigures and 4 experiments for £89.99 / $99.99 / €99.99.
Those experiments are based around safely travelling down an icy mountain; studying walruses; photographing reindeer; and studying polar bears. Animal lovers are sure to find a lot to enjoy here, with three of four experiments coming with two animals — a parent and a child.
Blocks’ review team is eager to get their hands on these sets and provide all the information you need about them an in upcoming issue of the LEGO magazine for fans. In the meantime, if you have questions about how LEGO Education works, you can head here.
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