What You May Not Know About Lego

							Title:
What You May Not Know About Lego

Word Count:
438

Summary:
The word Lego is taken from the Dut
ch for _play well_, which is leg go
dt. The word is now synonymous the
whole world over for a toy which ev
eryone loves to play with be they o
ld, young, boy or girl. We are so u
sed to making things from Lego that
 rarely do we stop to think about h
ow each individual block of Lego it
self is constructed.

Firstly, granules are loaded from l
arge trucks into the granule silos.
 After this the granules are taken
to molding machines. These subject
Keywords:
t...
toys, kids toys, children, parenting


 Article Body:
The word Lego is taken from the Dut
ch for _play well_, which is leg go
dt. The word is now synonymous the
whole world over for a toy which ev
eryone loves to play with be they o
ld, young, boy or girl. We are so u
sed to making things from Lego that
 rarely do we stop to think about h
ow each individual block of Lego it
self is constructed.

Firstly, granules are loaded from l
arge trucks into the granule silos.
 After this the granules are taken
to molding machines. These subject
the granules to high temperatures,
melting them into a highly viscous
substance. This substance is then p
oured into molds of various sizes t
o make the bricks that we all know
and recognise. Once the molten gran
ules have been poured into the mold
s they are transported to the decor
ating and printing stage. Although
the color of the brick is determine
d by the color of the granules in t
he first stage of the process, the
bricks can have patterns printed on
 to them, or designs. For example,
bricks with words on such as taxi o
r police have them printed on at th
is stage in the manufacturing proce
ss. Once this is complete, the Lego
 bricks are taken to the packaging
area where they are placed into box
es with other Lego pieces ready to
be shipped to stores or to wherever
 they are required.

Lego also have additional branches
which are aimed at different users.
 For example, Duplo is made by Lego
 but is widely known by the name Du
plo and not always associated with
Lego. Individual Duplo pieces are m
uch larger than those of a traditio
nal Lego set and they are aimed at
a much younger clientele. Children
aged 2-6 find Duplo much easier to
get hold of because of its increase
d proportions and so encourage youn
ger children to exercise their crea
tive minds.

Technic Lego is more advanced than
standard Lego and so appeals more t
o the 10-15 year old market. This o
ften incorporates very small pieces
 as these kits have moving componen
ts. For example, you can make such
items as a helicopter with propelle
rs which actually move when you tur
n a handle.

For some time Lego was aimed primar
ily at boys with kits based on Star
 Wars or Batman. This balance has n
ow been redressed somewhat and it i
s now possible to purchase kits to
build Disney Princess Castles and s
uch like. Lego is a great toy for c
hildren as it helps to improve thei
r hand eye co-ordination as well as
 their imagination and so children
of both sexes should be encouraged
to play with it in preference to wa
tching endless hours of TV.