“What in the MysticLand is going on here?” shouted Orak. The Mysticals’ house was filled with LEGO bricks jumping up and down.
Scorch said, “I bought these special Braille bricks developed by LEGO that were released after four years of testing. Felix used his wand and magically made them come alive. One brick went right into Felix’s ear and some crept into your lab.”
“I know that LEGOs are plastic brick toys for kids. What has that got to do with Braille?” asked Orak.
Scorch explained, “LEGO wanted to develop a brick game with a Braille system involved. Braille is a writing method developed for the blind. It has raised dots with small bumps on it. People touch these dots and read.
LEGO created the game Play with Braille. In this game, every brick in the set has the letters and numbers printed in Braille. It also has the dots and bumps used in the Braille alphabet.”
“Is this made mainly for the blind?” asked Orak.
“No, Orak,” replied Scorch, “The Braille bricks game is made for everyone, not just the blind. Martine Abel-Williamson, the President of the World Blind Union, said including Braille to the wider public is a massive step to reach more children who want to learn Braille.
Braille bricks have been given free to organisations that educate vision-impaired children.
The new set has 287 bricks in five different colours. It costs around 90 US dollars. Many games are available on the official LEGO website. Families can use those games and play with these colourful Braille bricks.”
“Wow! This is a brilliant initiative by LEGO. It will encourage many kids to learn about Braille in a fun way,” remarked Orak.