For the blind community, braille is not just literacy, it’s the entry to independence and inclusion into this world. Only 24% of people who are blind or visually impaired are employed, and of these, the majority have braille skills. However, only an estimated 7% of can read braille.

One thing that is missing to teach Braille is something that young children can start with. This affects the 19 million children globally who are vision impaired.

This is where LEGO® Braille Bricks come in. Since 2020, the LEGO Foundation has distributed LEGO Braille Bricks free of charge to organizations specializing in the education of children with vision impairment.

While this was met with overwhelming and positive response globally, it was not available for purchase to the public. This meant that many children and families who want to learn braille through play lack access to the product.

The LEGO Group and LEGO Foundation sought to create a product that would empower children to learn braille in a wholly unique and engaging way.

For the first time, we introduced the LEGO Braille Bricks set for visually impaired children to

share their journey of learning Braille with loved ones, at home.

Based off the learnings from the pilot project with organizations and schools, we designed a digital ecosystem of activities for an immersive learning experience with the physical Braille Bricks. This is the first ever product of its type that is available in the market for consumers – available in English, French, Italian, German and Spanish.

Families are now able to purchase this set online at $89.99 USD. The LEGO Foundation will continue to carry out research and distribute LEGO Braille Bricks educational kits free of charge through partnering national blindness associations and other partnering organisations.

For visually impaired children, it makes a huge difference to be able to share their journey of learning Braille with loved ones. We wanted kids aged 6+ to experience the joy of learning-through-play beyond the classroom and in their homes.

LEGO bricks are the perfect medium to learn Braille, as it is a product that so many families already know and love. The set is an invitation for all family members to have fun building tactile skills getting familiar with Braille.

The set and learning experience has been designed so that anyone who is curious about braille (visually impaired or sighted), can have fun getting to know the braille system at home with their family members in a playful, inclusive way.

It is not just a product, but an immersive experience that gives children a platform for social inclusion and fun family moments while building pre-braille skills.

Each of the 287 LEGO Braille Bricks is moulded with studs to depict a different letter or number in the braille alphabet. To complement the play experience and support pre-braille skill development, a digital experience consisting of a series of play starters teach players how to orient, attach, and stack the bricks through popular games like 'Rock, Paper, Scissors.'

We partnered with the free mobile app Be My Eyes, where LEGO Customer Service colleagues provide confidential, live visual assistance through the app for unboxing and general product support.

2011 – Concept first proposed to the LEGO Foundation by Danish Association of the Blind, and again in 2017 by Dorina Nowill Foundation for the Blind.

April 2019 – Pilot project unveiled

2020 – Distributed free kits to organizations educating visually impaired children

September 2023 – Set pre-order opened in English and French Versions

Early 2024 – Italian, German and Spanish Versions

The announcement of LEGO® Braille Bricks set generated a total of 3.8K mentions across print, broadcast, online and social media – including global exclusives with The Guardian, Fast Company and Sky News - with a predicted reach of over 2 billion and mentions in 91 countries.

“LEGO hopes the initiative will help parents and siblings share in learning braille, and the packs will include ideas for a range of educational games that families can play together.” - The Guardian

“The Braille bricks are designed so that anyone who is curious about Braille ‘can have fun getting to know the braille system at home with their family members in a playful, inclusive way’” – USA Today

“Learning should be fun. That's LEGO's aim, to encourage learning through play.” – BBC News

More significantly, the product won TIME Magazine’s Best Inventions of 2023 for innovativeness and inclusiveness of play to support learning.