Spatial awareness and why legos are perfect for it:
Playing with LEGOS as a child has been shown to have a positive impact on spatial awareness skills. Spatial awareness is the ability to understand and interact with the physical world around us. This includes the ability to interact with objects within a three dimensional space. Because we live in a three dimensional space, it seems pretty obvious why being able to efficiently interact with things inside of it is an important ability. Spatial awareness is an essential skill that helps us to navigate the world and solve problems. Playing with LEGOS involves using spatial reasoning skills to build structures and create designs. Children who play with LEGOS must use their spatial awareness to understand how the different pieces fit together and how to build structures that are stable and functional. This type of play helps children develop their spatial awareness skills, which can have a positive impact on their academic and future career success.
In 2014, this phenomenon was specifically examined by two different researchers, Ervina Damayanti and Evi Resti Dianita. The researchers used a qualitative approach to determine if groups of children that were forced to play with LEGOS performed better on certain tasks. The research was conducted on several children aged 3-6 years. The results showed that children are interested in practicing their visual spatial skills by playing with LEGO blocks. The kids with the building blocks constructed things referenced from the real world and according to Ervina Damayanti and Evi Resti Dianita, “Lego blocks are a type of game tool/media in the form of a three-dimensional cube/rectangular box made of plastic and can be assembled into a specific shape/building. Therefore, playing Lego blocks is a game that supports a constructive learning approach.” (Damayanti, Dianita, 51) Additionally, they claim that playing with toys such as this not only increases spatial awareness ability, but also increases the likelihood of the children collaborating with their "building partners. They children said things like, "what do you want to make? I made a suspension bridge." (Damayanti, Dianita, 57.) The best part is it doesn't end here; LEGOS have a multitude of other beneficial effects.
