(BILLUND, Denmark, Tuesday, August 24, 2021) – LEGO® Education unveiled LEGO® Education SPIKE™ Essential for primary school students (Grades 1-5) to ignite enthusiasm for STEAM learning through playful problem-solving and storytelling. Part of the new LEGO® Learning System, SPIKE Essential engages students in hands-on investigation of STEAM concepts while supporting literacy, math and social-emotional development.

SPIKE Essential offers playful learning experiences in which students solve problems through storytelling. The cross-curricular STEAM solution includes familiar LEGO building elements, four new minifigures with different characteristics and personalities that are relatable to students, and standards-aligned learning units using everyday themes. The characters and stories engage students in STEAM learning, while fostering social-emotional skills. With 50 combined hours of educational content, SPIKE Essential combines age-appropriate icon- and word-based block coding with simple hardware — including an intelligent Hub, motors, a Light Matrix, and a Color Sensor — to bring STEAM concepts to life with the LEGO® Education SPIKE™ App.

Each SPIKE Essential learning unit includes:

• A unit-wide theme: Great Adventures, Amazing Amusement Park, Happy Traveler, Crazy Carnival Games and Quirky Creations
• A learning sequence with one introductory lesson, several guided practice lessons, and one open-ended project
• 7-8 lessons
• Additional 30+ minute language, arts, and math extensions for each lesson
• 6-10 hours of content

The LEGO Learning System meets every student where they are on their learning journey and delivers learning outcomes that future-proof their skills. Its scalable design, along with personalized professional development resources, makes it easy to implement at the classroom, school or district level – all at once or by introducing individual solutions over time. Combining the technology-enhanced LEGO® Education SPIKE™ Portfolio and non-tech LEGO® Education BricQ Motion solutions, the Learning System makes abstract concepts more tangible as students move from simple explorations to tackling increasingly complex real-world challenges. With unlimited possibilities for playful hands-on STEAM learning, students become life-long confident learners.

SPIKE™ Essential  is available today for pre-order in the U.S. For more information on SPIKE™ Essential and LEGO® Education, visit https://education.lego.com/en-us/spike-essential.

Soundbites — Esben Staerk, President, LEGO® Education

• THE PAST YEAR HAS SHOWN US THAT NOW IS THE TIME TO RETHINK LEARNING AND TO EMPOWER EDUCATORS TO CONSISTENTLY PROVIDE ENGAGING, MEANINGFUL, AND PLAYFUL LEARNING EXPERIENCES FOR STUDENTS.
• STUDENT ENGAGEMENT IS MORE CRITICAL THEN EVER, AND WE KNOW THAT HANDS-ON, PURPOSEFUL PLAY IS PROVEN TO NOT ONLY ENGAGE STUDENTS, BUT ALSO INSPIRE A DEEPER LOVE OF LEARNING. THE LEGO LEARNING SYSTEM PROVIDES UNLIMITED POSSIBILITIES THROUGH HANDS-ON, PLAYFUL STEAM LEARNING AND STRENGTHENS TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY SKILLS, LIKE CREATIVITY, COLLABORATION, AND CRITICAL THINKING, THAT STUDENTS NEED FOR THE  FUTURE.
• LEGO EDUCATION SPIKE ESSENTIAL IGNITES ENTHUSIASM FOR STEAM LEARNING THROUGH PLAYFUL PROBLEM-SOLVING AND STORYTELLING, PUTTING PRIMARY SCHOOL STUDENTS ON A PATH TO BECOME RESILIENT, INDEPENDENT THINKERS AND LIFELONG LEARNERS.