Construction toy, DUPLO, LEGO Education, ABS bricks, 2016

Construction toy consisting of 160 large plastic bricks, made from red, dark blue, yellow, pale and dark green ABS. Some pieces are printed with simple eye graphics. There is also a set of cards printed with illustrations of building possibilities.

LEGO was founded in 1935 by Ole Kirk Kristiansen and over the years has transformed from a small workshop to one of the world's largest toy manufacturers. LEGO’s most famous export, the LEGO System brick, was first manufactured in 1958. LEGO first began exploring the possibility of increasing brick size in the mid-1960s, in order to cater for a wider audience (primarily the early years market). In a number of LEGO sets from the mid-1960s you can see prototypes of larger bricks being incorporated into the designs as part of the testing phase.

One of the key design features of the LEGO brick is universal compatibility – meaning that all LEGO products (old or new) can fit together in order to provide product longevity and consistency. The DUPLO brick was designed to follow this ethos and therefore was created to be compatible with the original smaller LEGO bricks. The construction method of combining small and large elements was patented in 1967.

LEGO Education is part of the wider LEGO Group, and work with teachers and educational specialists to develop specific sets for formal learning settings. The set includes a series of building cards to help provide children support and inspiration for construction, and includes an activity card for teachers to inspire different teaching ideas that can be used in the classroom.

This particular DUPLO set was first released in 2016 as part of the LEGO Education range.

LEGO's early years construction toy, DUPLO, first appeared in the late-1960s. This particular set was released in 2016 as part of the LEGO Education range. DUPLO is aimed specifically at children aged 3 to 5 years.

The set includes 160 bricks in six different colours, with some that have graphics in the shape of eyes printed on the surface. There are suggested items to build including a fish, bird, caterpillar, flower, tree or boat, but this is essentially a free-play toy. The limited colours and range of shapes encourages abstract building and manages to keep construction simple in order to cater for the early-years audience. There are no instructions, unlike many other contemporary LEGO sets, but the inspirational building cards show users multiple possibilities. This range has been developed to encourage creative thinking, child-led self-expression and to develop fine motor skills.

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