Lego

As a parent, there's nothing quite so satisfying as watching your kids express their creativity. Doesn't matter if it's with a set of blocks, a box of crayons, or an app that turns long sequences of still photos into superhero-themed movies -- it's just thrilling.

On Saturday, I gave my 9-year-old son a five-minute tutorial on using Lego Super Hero Movie Maker, a new app that lets Lego fans create nifty stop-motion animations using their own minifigs (i.e. little Lego people).

By Sunday, he'd already created several hilarious movies, the best of which involved a giant praying mantis catching and devouring several minifigs (hey, who says the good guys always get to win?). And he was just getting started -- Super Hero Movie Maker was an instant hit.… Read more

Some people send Lego men spaceward on rockets, while others can only dream. Or build giant Lego barrel organs dedicated to Star Wars.

To promote the 3D version of "The Phantom Menace," German ad agency Serviceplan Campaign turned heads and arms with this mammoth instrument created from more than 20,000 Lego bricks.

When it's rotated with a hand crank, the barrel's many trees, buildings, and other Lego structures trigger levers that strike keys on a keyboard. That, in turn, plays the series' main theme. … Read more

When you think of the giant tire manufacturers, names like Goodyear, Firestone, and BFGoodrich probably come to mind. So it might surprise you to learn that the largest maker of tires on the planet is none other than the most famous toy company in the world: Lego.

To be sure, Lego's tires are not all-weather, nor can they go off-road. They also fit in the palm of your hand. But for 50 years, Lego has been churning out its little wheels, millions per year, topping out at an unbelievable 381 million in 2011, the company said.

This tire empire … Read more

Fans of the modern Batman series are eagerly awaiting the next installment of the Dark Knight franchise, due in theaters this summer. To help them pass the time until the movie's release, Lego aficionado ParanickFilmz created a reimagined trailer, along with help from a few associates who handled the mouth animation and CGI effects. … Read more

I don't mean to sound all crotchety and old, but back when I was a kid, our Legos didn't have genders. All Legos were for everybody.

My brother and I shared the same pile of bricks and Lego figures. I didn't feel slighted that our little yellow people were missing pink skirts and sassy ponytails.

Lego recently debuted a new line of toys for girls. The Lego Friends wear skirts, have puppies, play dress-up, and hang out in a candy-colored cafe. Meanwhile, the boys' Lego characters are fighting space battles, capturing dinosaurs, and sailing pirate ships.

The HTML5 Gendered Lego Advertising Remixer shines a light on the gender divide in toy advertising. There's one world for girls and an entirely different world for boys.… Read more

It's a match made in heaven: "Star Wars" and Lego. And on March 29, visitors to Legoland California will have a chance to check out a whole new area filled with nothing but large-scale Lego models featuring things like Jawa sandcrawlers, R2-D2, Darth Vader, and more.

All told, the models will use more than 2 million Lego bricks and will include models from each of the six "Star Wars" movies.

Each model is 3 feet tall and uses at least 10,000 bricks, according to Lego.

Legos are cool. Tinker Toys are cool. Zoob is cool. But you know what's really cool? Building a hybrid gizmo out of all of the above (and other construction toys as well).

That's possible now--without tape, glue, chewing gum, or earwax--using the Free Universal Construction Kit, a set of adapters that let you snap together parts from 10 popular building toys. Brought to you by the F.A.T. (Free Art and Technology) Lab and Sy-Lab, the kit can be downloaded for free as a collection of models in STL format that can be printed with 3D printers such as the Makerbot.… Read more

One Romanian man's tribute to the end of the space shuttle era may leave you slightly misty-eyed.

His YouTube video, complete with a soul-searching ballad, shows off a Lego space shuttle reaching the stratosphere last December with the help of a 56-ounce helium-filled meteorological balloon, GoPro Hero, and a Spot GPS device. Keep an eye out for the epic frost buildup on the shuttle nose during the 114,829-foot ascent. … Read more

Japanese astronaut Satoshi Furukawa flew 220 miles into space to play with toys. His recent stay on the International Space Station included several hours of building a Lego version of his orbiting abode.

Furukawa didn't have to sneak his bricks onboard. The Lego project is part of an official educational effort that aims to teach schoolchildren about life in space.… Read more