LEGO Grants Boston Public Library $1M to Fund ‘Learning Through Play’
LEGO officials have announced a new partnership with the Boston Public Library to help more than 150,000 children across greater Boston access hands-on learning and interactive play. The LEGO Community…
A beautiful boy is playing at home with building blocks. A cute smiling boy is playing with a constructor with a lot of colorful plastic blocks in the room, building a city. Preschool classes.
LEGO officials have announced a new partnership with the Boston Public Library to help more than 150,000 children across greater Boston access hands-on learning and interactive play.
The LEGO Community Fund granted the library $1 million to support the two-year program. Library officials said the grant will allow its team to create programming to help children "learn through play" in Boston.
CBS News Boston reported that the new initiative is expected to generate approximately 21,000 new library card registrations and more than 60,000 materials checkouts.
"The transformative grant will expand what's possible — introducing more playful, creative, and civic-minded experiences for young people across all of Boston's neighborhoods," library president David Leonard said in a statement released to CBS News Boston.
Children ages 9 and younger can participate in programs focused on bolstering literacy. According to library officials, the library plans to distribute 12,000 literacy kits to families. The kits will contain books, resources for multilingual learners, and DUPLO blocks, large-sized LEGO bricks for toddlers.
These kits will also be provided to hospitals and community centers throughout Boston. Boston Public Library also intends to reintroduce its 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten program using LEGO's learning through play resources.
The library will distribute 12,000 parent literacy kits with books, multilingual resources, and DUPLO blocks, a larger version of LEGO blocks for toddlers. The kits will be available at hospitals and community centers throughout Boston. Boston Public Library will also relaunch its 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten program using LEGO's learning through play content.
For older kids, LEGO Clubs organized at more than 11 Boston library branches will expand to focus on "civic, STEM, and storytelling activities supported by LEGO employee volunteers."
LEGO's grant announcement comes just days after the company officially opened its new Boston headquarters on Thursday, May 15.
