History of Lego facts for kids
The history of Lego is a super cool story about how a small Danish workshop grew into a worldwide toy giant! It all started in 1932 with Ole Kirk Christiansen, who first made furniture. Soon, he began crafting wooden toys. In 1934, he named his new toy company Lego.
After World War II, a new way of making things called injection molding came to Denmark. Ole Kirk bought a machine for it in 1947. That same year, he and his son found some plastic, interlocking bricks. These inspired the famous Lego bricks we know today, first made in 1949. Over the years, Lego bricks and the whole Lego system changed a lot. New shapes and colors were added, and some were removed.
Today, Lego is still super popular and makes lots of money. They sell construction kits and many other things. This includes Lego board games, stores, video games, movies, theme parks, and even special services. Lego has made a huge mark on popular culture. Even with all this growth, the company is still owned by the family.
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How Lego Began (1932–1959)
The The Lego Group started in Ole Kirk Christiansen's carpentry shop. This was in Billund, Denmark. He bought the shop in 1916. It mostly built houses and furniture.
In 1924, the workshop burned down. Ole built a bigger one and wanted to grow his business. But then the Great Depression hit, and he had fewer customers. He started making tiny versions of his furniture. These small models of ladders and ironing boards gave him the idea to make toys.
On August 10, 1932, Ole's shop began making wooden toys. These included piggy banks, pull toys, cars, and houses. But the economy was so bad that the business didn't make money. Farmers sometimes traded food for his toys. Ole kept making furniture too, just to stay in business.
In the mid-1930s, yo-yos became a huge trend. This brought him more work for a short time. When the yo-yo craze ended, he used leftover yo-yo parts as wheels for toy trucks. His son, Godtfred, started working for him and became very involved.
In 1934, Ole held a contest for his staff to name the company. He offered a bottle of homemade wine as a prize. Ole was thinking of "Legio" or "Lego." "Lego" came from the Danish words leg godt, meaning "play well." Later, the Lego Group found out that "Lego" also means "I put together" in Latin. Ole chose Lego, and the company started using it on its products.
After World War II, plastic became available in Denmark. Lego bought a plastic injection molding machine in 1947. One of the first plastic toys was a truck that could be taken apart. In 1947, Ole Kirk and Godtfred saw samples of interlocking plastic bricks. These were made by a company called Kiddicraft. Hilary Fisher Page designed these "Kiddicraft Self-Locking Building Bricks." He had patented them in 1939.
In 1949, the Lego Group began making similar bricks. They called them "Automatic Binding Bricks." These early Lego bricks were made from cellulose acetate. They were like wooden blocks but could "lock" together. They had round "studs" on top and a hollow bottom. They stuck together well but were easy to pull apart. In 1953, the bricks got a new name: Lego Mursten, or "Lego Bricks."
In the 1950s, Lego started selling its products in other countries. They first focused on countries in Northern Europe. In 1953, they began making Lego under license in Norway. In 1954, Godtfred Christiansen became the junior managing director. He had an idea for a toy "system" after talking with a buyer. He thought the plastic bricks were the best for this system.
In 1955, Lego started in Sweden and Iceland. At first, plastic toys were not very popular. Many Lego shipments were sent back because sales were low. In 1955, Lego released the "Town Plan" using the plastic bricks as a system.
The building bricks were somewhat popular but had some problems. Their "locking" ability was limited, and they weren't very flexible. In 1958, the bricks were improved with hollow tubes inside. This made them much stronger and more versatile. The company patented this new design. Ole Kirk Christiansen died that same year, and Godtfred took over the company.
Moving to Plastic Bricks (1960–1969)
Another fire hit the Lego Group in 1960. It destroyed most of the company's wooden toys. Godtfred decided that the plastic toys were strong enough to stop making wooden ones. Because of this, Godtfred's brothers, Gerhardt and Karl Georg, left Lego. They started their own company called "Bilofix." By the end of 1960, the Lego Group had over 450 employees.
In 1961, Lego wanted to sell toys in North America. But they didn't have a way to ship them there. So, Lego made a deal with Samsonite. Samsonite started making and selling Lego products in the United States and Canada.
In 1961 and 1962, the first Lego wheels were introduced. This was a big deal! It meant kids could build cars, trucks, buses, and other vehicles. Also, Lego started making toys just for pre-school kids.
In 1964, the material used for Lego bricks changed. They switched from cellulose acetate to acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS plastic). ABS plastic is still used today. It's safe, doesn't change color easily, and is stronger. Samsonite in North America didn't switch right away. 1964 was also the first year that Lego sets came with instruction manuals.
A very important Lego series, the Lego train system, came out in 1966. The first train sets had a 4.5-volt motor, a battery box, and rails. Two years later, a 12-volt version was released.
On June 7, 1968, the first Legoland Park opened in Billund. This theme park had amazing miniature towns. They were built entirely from Lego bricks! The park was about 3 acres big. In its first year, it attracted 625,000 visitors. Over the next 20 years, the park grew much bigger. It eventually had almost a million visitors each year. Lego set sales reached over eighteen million units in 1968.
In 1969, the Duplo system was introduced. Duplo bricks are much bigger than regular Lego bricks. This makes them safer for very young children. But the two systems work together! Lego bricks can fit perfectly onto Duplo bricks. This allows kids to easily move from Duplo to Lego as they grow. The name Duplo comes from the Latin word duplus, meaning "double." A Duplo brick is exactly twice the size of a Lego brick in every way.
Growing Bigger (1970–1991)
In the last 30 years of the 20th century, Lego explored new types of toys. In 1971, Lego started making toys for girls. They introduced furniture pieces and dollhouses. In 1972, Lego added boat and ship sets with floating hull pieces. Godtfred Kirk Christiansen's son, Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen, joined the company. He had studied business in Switzerland and Denmark.
One of Kjeld's first big achievements was setting up new factories. He also created a research and development department. This team would make sure Lego's building methods stayed modern.
In 1973, the LEGO logo got a new look. The square from the old logo stayed. But the word "system" and the five colored stripes were removed. The letters became smoother and had a black and yellow outline. This was a popular style in the 1970s.
Human figures with arms that could move appeared in 1974. These were in "Lego family" sets. They became very popular. The next year, a very early version of the "minifigure" was introduced. But it couldn't move and had no face printed on its head. That same year, Lego opened its first North American factory in Enfield, Connecticut, USA.
In 1975, "Expert Series" sets came out. These were for older, more experienced Lego builders. Then, in 1977, "Expert Builder" sets were released. These technical sets had moving parts like gears, differentials, and axles. They let builders create realistic models, like cars with working rack and pinion steering.
In 1978, the famous Lego "minifigure" was added. These small Lego people had arms and legs that could move. At first, they all had a simple smiling face. The minifigure was used in many Lego sets. This allowed kids to build towns filled with these smiling Lego citizens. Lego also went to space with Lego Space sets. These had astronaut minifigures, rockets, and spaceships. They also explored medieval times with the Castle theme.
In 1979, Lego introduced the Scala series. This line had jewelry pieces and was made for young girls. Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen also became the president of Lego that year.
Since the 1960s, teachers saw how useful Lego bricks were. They helped children be creative and solve problems. Teachers used Lego bricks in classrooms for many reasons. In 1980, the Lego Group created the Educational Products Department. It was later called Lego Dacta. This department wanted to make Lego even better for learning. A new factory opened in Switzerland, and another in Jutland, Denmark, made Lego tires.
Between the 1960s and 1990s, Lego worked with Royal Dutch Shell. This allowed Shell's logo to be on some Lego items.
In 1981, the second generation of Lego trains appeared. These trains were available in 4.5 V (battery-powered) or 12 V (mains powered). They had many more accessories. These included working lights, remote-controlled track switches, and car uncouplers.
The "Expert Builder" series became the "Technic" series in 1982. On August 13 of that year, the Lego Group celebrated its 50th anniversary. A book called 50 Years of Play was published for the occasion. The next year, the Duplo system grew to include sets for even younger kids, like infants. New sets had baby rattles and figures with movable arms and legs.
In 1984, Lego minifigure citizens got a world of knights and horses. The Castle theme was redesigned. Light & Sound sets came out in 1985. These sets had a battery pack with electric lights and buzzers. These added more realism to Lego creations. Also that year, Lego's educational division made the Technic Computer Control. This system let computers control Technic robots and other motorized models. A Lego factory also opened in Manaus, Brazil, that year.
In 1984, the Technic line got even better with pneumatic parts. These parts used air pressure to make things move.
In August 1988, 38 children from 17 countries took part in the first Lego World Cup building contest. It was held in Billund. That same year, Lego Canada was started. The Lego line grew again in 1989 with the Lego Pirates theme. This theme had pirate ships, deserted islands, and treasure.
The Lego Group's Educational Products Department was renamed Lego Dacta in 1989. The name comes from the Greek word "didactic," which means "the study of learning." Dr. Seymour Papert from MIT was named "Lego Professor of Learning Research." This was for his work linking the Logo programming language with Lego products.
Until 1989, Lego minifigures only had yellow skin and a standard smiling face. That year, the Lego Group added more facial expressions. They added beards, eye patches, sunglasses, lipstick, and eyelashes. These were mostly for the new Lego Pirates theme. Some older collectors didn't like the new faces. They thought they looked too "cartoon-ish." But for Lego Pirates, these detailed faces helped create specific characters and stories.
In 1990, Lego released a new series for advanced builders. These were called Model Team sets. They included a race car and an off-road vehicle. These sets had amazing detail and realism. While Technic was about how things worked, Model Team was about how they looked. The Lego Group became one of the top 10 toy companies that year. It was the only European toy company in the top 10. Also, Legoland Billund had over one million visitors for the first time. Lego Malaysia was also started in 1990.
In 1991, the Lego Group made its electrical parts standard. Train and Technic motors became 9V. This made them work with the rest of the Lego range.
In 1992, two Guinness records were set with Lego. A castle made from 400,000 Lego bricks was built on Swedish television. It measured 4.45 meters by 5.22 meters. Also, a 545-meter-long Lego railway line with three trains was built. Duplo got the Toolo line, with a screwdriver, wrench, nuts, and bolts. The Paradisa line, for girls, brought new pastel colors to Lego. It focused on resorts, horses, and beach life. In 1993, a Duplo train and a parrot-shaped "brickvac" were released. The "brickvac" could pick up Lego pieces from the floor!
In the late 1990s, the Lego Group launched new and special lines. These were for specific groups of kids. The Slizers/Throwbots line came before the Bionicle range. It used Technic pieces to make action figures for boys. Belville was a more traditional line for girls. It had large figures that could move. The "Lego 4 Juniors" group had medium-sized figures. In 2003, Lego launched Clikits, for girls. It had plastic jewelry and accessories that could be customized. In 2004, Lego added the QUATRO brick, for ages 1–3. A Quatro brick is four times the size of a regular Lego brick and works with Duplo bricks. Also that year, they created the second line of Knights Kingdom themed products.
Facing Challenges (1992–2004)
Lego's profits had been going down since 1992. Around 1995 or 1996, Lego changed many of its designers. They brought in new designers from colleges. These new designers knew less about toy design or Lego building. At this time, it took over a year for a Lego set to go from an idea to store shelves. By 1997, the design of products changed. Sets had fewer pieces and were quicker to build. They also had more play features. But this change got mixed reactions from serious Lego fans. They were used to the detailed building of older sets. Lego Pirates, which had been popular since 1989, was stopped in 1997.
These changes in design teams made the company's struggles worse. In 1998, Lego lost money for the first time. They also had to let go of 1,000 employees.
In 1999, Lego started making products based on other popular stories. These were not designed by Lego itself. The first were Lego Star Wars and Winnie the Pooh Duplo. In 2000, they added Lego Harry Potter characters and figures from Steven Spielberg movies.
In 2002, Duplo and Lego Baby were combined into a new line called Lego Explore.
In 2003, Lego decided that minifigures based on real people or live-action franchises would have natural skin-tones. This happened after Lando Calrissian was in a Star Wars set. Also, a Basketball theme had figures that looked like real players.
In 2004, Lego had a big loss of money. The marketing executive, Mads Nipper, later said the company was "almost bankrupt" at this point. He explained that they kept spending money as if the company was growing fast. They didn't realize they were in trouble. Kids were playing less, and there were fewer children in some Western countries. Play trends changed, and Lego didn't change with them. They weren't making toys that were interesting enough. They didn't innovate enough and didn't cut costs deep enough.
In 2004, Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen stepped down as CEO. He appointed Jørgen Vig Knudstorp, who was the first CEO not from the family. The company sold the four Legoland parks to Merlin Entertainments. Also, Lego took back control of its manufacturing. Before, 80% of it had been done by other companies.
Getting Stronger (2005–Present)
The company focused on its main products. They brought back the Duplo label in late 2004. Since 2004, manufacturing moved to Mexico. Distribution moved from Billund to the Czech Republic. By 2007, Lego's global workforce was smaller. It went from 9,100 people in 1998 to 4,200 because of outsourcing.
In the US, Lego sales went up by 32 percent. This was thanks to Star Wars and Indiana Jones-themed games. Globally, sales increased by 18% in 2008. Mr. Laursen, a Lego executive, said in 2009 that licensed products were more important in the American market. About 60 percent of Lego's American sales were linked to licenses. This was twice as much as in 2004. Laursen said in 2009 that Lego was "definitely more commercially oriented."
In 2009, Lego Games (board games) and Lego Power Miners were introduced. The idea for Lego Ninjago also came about. Even during the Great Recession, Lego made good profits in 2009. Mads Nipper, a Lego executive, said they were "delivering twice the return on sales of any competitor."
In 2011, Lego launched a new theme called Lego Ninjago. It became very popular worldwide. They also started a new long-term agreement with Royal Dutch Shell. Shell's logo had been on Lego products from the 1960s to the 1990s. Greenpeace criticized this partnership in 2014. After the Greenpeace campaign, Lego decided not to renew the contract. The Shell logo only appeared in sets with Ferrari or BMW licenses.
In 2012, an animated short film called The Lego Story was made. It was for Lego's 80th anniversary. It showed the challenges Ole Kirk Christiansen and his son Godtfred faced. They worked hard from 1932 to 1968 to make the company successful.
In 2013, the LEGO Group decided to build a factory in China. This was part of their plan to make products closer to their main markets. Asia was seen as a future key market for Lego. This was partly because Lego sales were growing in the region. Bali Padda, the Chief Operating Officer at the time, explained why they chose to build a factory in Jiaxing.
In 2014, Warner Bros and The Lego Group released The Lego Movie. It was a computer-animated adventure comedy film. It told the story of an ordinary Lego Minifigure construction worker named Emmet Brickowski. He was supposed to save the world. The movie had one of the highest opening weekends for an original animated film. The Los Angeles Times noted "nearly unanimous positive reviews" for the movie.
In 2017, Warner Bros, DC Entertainment, and The Lego Group released The Lego Batman Movie. This was a spin-off based on one of the main characters from the first Lego movie. Lego has since released another animated film based on one of its toy lines, Ninjago. It was called The Lego Ninjago Movie and came out in 2017.
In February 2019, a sequel to The Lego Movie was released. It was called The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part. Many of the voice actors from the first film returned. But it didn't sell as many tickets as the earlier movies.
On November 25, 2019, the Lego Group announced they bought Bricklink. This is the world's largest Lego fan community. They bought it from Nexon for an unknown price. The deal was expected to be finished by the end of 2019.
In November 2020, Lego announced its largest set ever. It was a model of the Colosseum in Rome. It had 9,036 pieces! This set beat the previous record holder, the Millennium Falcon from Star Wars. In 2021, the Titanic model topped this record with 9,090 pieces. In 2022, the second set to reach 10,000 bricks was released. It was a model of the Eiffel Tower with 10,001 pieces. The first was the Lego World map.
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