Braille Bricks make their long awaited Australian debut at LEGOLAND Discovery Centre

Vision Australia joined forces with the LEGOLAND® Discovery Centre yesterday to introduce children who are blind or have low vision to LEGO® Braille Bricks for the first time at a special event for 20 families in Melbourne. 

 

The new range of LEGO bricks have been designed to expose children to braille from a young age, and feature raised bumps that have been modified to correspond to a letter or character of the braille alphabet. Each brick also has a printed letter or character to allow children who are blind or have low vision to learn and play alongside sighted classmates, family members and educators.

 

Vision Australia CEO, Ron Hooton, said the organisation was thrilled to bring the unique blocks to Australia.  

 

“Braille is vital in supporting children who are blind or have low vision to develop literacy skills, and LEGO Braille Bricks are a great way to expose children to braille at an early age,” said Ron Hooton, CEO of Vision Australia,” he added.

 

During the event the families enjoyed playing with LEGO Braille Bricks and exploring LEGOLAND Discovery Centre’s LEGO model of Melbourne, various building zones, two rides and 4D cinema.

 

Discovery Centre Master Model Builder, Kieran Jiwa, said the centre was proud to host Vision Australia, describing how amazing the project is, and how much it will support children who are blind or have low vision learn braille in a playful and engaging way.

 

LEGO Braille Bricks will be provided to schools or other education institutions that have a student, or students, who are blind or have low vision and are learning braille. LEGO Braille Bricks are not available for sale to the general public and are not available at LEGOLAND Discovery Centre. 

 

The  LEGOLAND Discovery Centre is located at Chadstone Shopping Centre, and is designed specifically for families with children aged between three and ten years. 

 

The attraction is open from Thursday – Monday during school term and seven days a week during the school holidays. All guests must pre-book their tickets online at https://www.legolanddiscoverycentre.com/melbourne/