Lego’s latest smart bricks entertain—but also reveal a big educational opportunity it has missed

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Play experts were dismayed when The Lego Group launched Smart Bricks—blocks that play sound, light up and react to movement—at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES). Their worry: Kids won’t use their imaginations.

But the real risk is that Lego misses an opportunity to teach children robotics. Let’s first address the question of imagination and play, which links to Lego’s trajectory as a business. The company was founded in Denmark in 1932 as a manufacturer of wooden toys, its name derived from the Danish phrase ‘leg godt’ or ‘play well.’ Its interconnecting plastic blocks successfully drove sales until the early 2000s, when it faced $800 million in debt and almost had to shut shop.

Lego’s saving grace came from CEO Jorgen Vig Knudstorp, who doubled down on strategic licensing partnerships with franchises like Star Wars and Harry Potter. By 2015, it had overtaken Mattel to become the world’s largest toy company and its brand partnerships became a profitable moat as copycats proliferated. The act of play arguably paid a price, as Lego increasingly focused on complicated sets that could be displayed as part of a collection, and were often aimed at adults.

Once upon a time, playing with Lego primarily meant raking through a tub of random rectangles, wheels and mini-figure heads to cobble together a peculiar looking house or rocket ship. Today, it also means following step-by-step instructions to complete a set, before leaving it to gather dust and picking up an iPad. Not great for stoking the imagination.