26 Aug LEGO® play offers unique experiences that support children’s creativity and learning

Johannesburg, South Africa, August 2022 -According to research done by Ginamarie Scott, Lyle E. Leritz, and Michael D,being creative is an important skill, which people tend to lose, as they get older. Supporting children’s creativity is crucial especially in the first six years of their life, as it is a time when they develop most rapidly, both physically and mentally. One of the best ways to learn new things is through play – regardless of age. Playing with LEGO® bricks provides children with endless creative possibilities and opens a whole new world of imagination. All LEGO bricks are based on the LEGO System in Play, which ensures that all the elements ever made fit together. This allows children to build anything they can imagine – over and over again. Only the imagination sets the limits.

For many years, the LEGO Group has been highlighting the importance of play and how valuable it is not only for children but also for the whole family. Play is an integral tool in a child’s development, and parents clearly understand that.
To promote the importance of these skills, LEGO South Africa is launching the ‘Rebuild the World’ campaign, which encourages children of all ages to embrace their creativity through play and develop their full potential. A great example of unleashing its creative potential is South Africa’s youngest author, Michelle Nkamankeng – who wrote and published a children’s book when she was just seven years old. Michelle has become an ambassador of the campaign to bring up her story and inspire other South African children to achieve their dreams.

Michelle’s love of reading was nurtured from a young age, as was her creativity and her confidence to embrace and address the challenges she identified. Published with the help of her parents, Waiting for the Waves is just the first in a series that Michelle planned, with subsequent titles telling stories that children love to read, because they’re also written by a child.

“I’ve always loved creative play, whether it was fancy dress or building amazing creations with LEGO® bricks,” Michelle says. “Building LEGO sets taught me the importance of a good foundation and structure – which every story needs! Breaking those sets down and building my own crazy inventions showed me that just about anything is possible – and that I can change the world with my creativity, if I just put my mind to it!”

“Michelle is the perfect example of what a child is capable of when their creativity is allowed to flourish. She is the personification of the values we honor at the LEGO Group – i.e. fun, creativity, imagination, quality, learning and care, therefore, we are thrilled to have her on board in a role of the ambassador of the Rebuild the World campaign. We believe that together with Michelle, we will inspire other children in South Africa to chase their dreams and change the world using their creativity,” says Miroslav Riha, country manager for LEGO company in South Africa.

Play is vital for every child in their development of critical skills that enable them to thrive in a complex and challenging world. This is in line with the LEGO Group’s main mission over the last nine decades, which is to inspire and develop the builders of tomorrow from the moment they pick up their first brick. And it does not stop there. We can all learn through play by putting things together, taking them apart and re-assembling them in different ways. So, let’s play!

Michelle will be giving away a copy of her book, “The Little Mouse” to LEGO lovers who purchase selected LEGO sets at LEGO® certified stores across South Africa. The public can also donate their pre-loved children’s books at LEGO certified stores in aid of children from underprivileged communities – each donation will earn 100 Brick Rewards.