Building Connections to the School District

Over the past few years, Take Action Global (TAG) proudly hosted eight distinct LEGO® Build the Change cohorts, bringing together educators from diverse backgrounds—including librarians, technology specialists, middle school educators, art instructors, fifth-grade teachers, and STEAM coordinators.

Among our early participants was Wendy Johnston, the STEAM teacher at Stillwater Elementary School. Wendy approached the program with enthusiasm and curiosity, eager to explore its potential across various grade levels.

Upon completing the program, Wendy shared that it was exceptionally well-organized and clearly explained. As the STEAM coordinator, she implemented a diverse range of lessons spanning first through fifth grades. This approach allowed her to observe firsthand how students at different developmental stages engaged with the STEAM activities.

Inspired by Wendy’s experience, we reached out to her principal, Ms. Rebecca Toleman, to arrange a visit to Stillwater. We were fortunate to coordinate a two-day engagement: on the first day, we conducted a one-hour professional learning session with the school’s educators; on the second day, we interacted with nearly 500 students during their inaugural STEAM Symposium.

Our theme for both experiences was “playful learning.” We believe that play is just as important for adult learners as it is for students. Play is a powerful learning strategy that allows both students and educators to develop critical skills for learning. For students, engaging in playful activities enhances problem-solving abilities, fosters creativity, and supports emotional regulation. Educators, too, benefit from playful learning experiences as it encourages innovative teaching approaches and strengthens collaborative skills. Research indicates that playful learning environments promote cognitive flexibility and resilience, essential traits for navigating the evolving educational landscape.

The LEGO® Build the Change program, supported by the LEGO Foundation, empowers children to address real-world sustainability challenges through creative play. By engaging in activities that promote environmental awareness and problem-solving, students develop a sense of agency and hope for the future.

Our collaboration with Stillwater School exemplifies the transformative impact of integrating playful learning into education. We look forward to continuing our partnership and supporting educators in fostering creativity and sustainability awareness among students.

Setting the Stage

When we arrived at Stillwater Elementary, we were met with a beautiful school and kind teachers and staff helping us with whatever we needed. Even though the school was huge, it wasn’t a problem because of staff members like, and including Wendy. As we arrived at the cafeteria, we were able to set up at the round tables filling the room. They had a nice open space for us in the middle and a great tech team helping us with a smartboard. We set up carts including LEGO bricks, pipe cleaners, pom-pom’s, playdough, and more for the school to keep the activities for their students so they can experience them too. Throughout the session the teachers also used these carts to express their creativity more within the activities. 

The Power of Play

Play isn’t just fun—it’s fundamental. In the classroom, play becomes a powerful strategy for teaching and learning, helping students build essential skills through experiences that are joyful, actively engaging, meaningful, iterative, and socially interactive. At Stillwater, these principles came to life through a series of playful learning activities that were both creative and educational.

1. Free Play: Free play gives students the freedom to explore their ideas without strict guidelines. Whether building imaginative creations with LEGO® bricks, sketching designs, or crafting their own stories, students tapped into their creativity, problem-solving, and emotional expression. This unstructured time nurtured autonomy and encouraged them to follow their curiosity—sparking deep learning in the process.
2. Structured Play: Structured play offers a balance between guidance and exploration. During our sessions, educators and students engaged in goal-oriented building challenges designed to solve real-world problems like ocean pollution and bee habitats in cities. These activities were scaffolded by clear instructions but allowed room for personal expression and group collaboration.
3. Role Play: One of the most powerful ways to support empathy and communication is through role play. While we didn’t do a traditional role play session, many of the builds and group discussions encouraged participants to take on different perspectives—thinking like engineers, city planners, or environmentalists. This type of play helps students develop social-emotional skills and understand complex, real-world scenarios.
4. Game-Based Learning: From the LEGO® Duck Challenge to build-a-solution tasks, participants experienced learning through games. These playful, low-stakes activities were designed to activate over 24 cognitive, emotional, and motor skills, including working memory, imagination, perspective-taking, and fine motor coordination (as highlighted in the LEGO Foundation’s research).

In every form, play fuels development—not only in young learners but also in adults. Educators at Stillwater embraced play as a dynamic teaching tool, reinforcing that structured learning can still be fun, and that joyful learning environments spark engagement, curiosity, and collaboration.

Engaging Activities

When the educators entered, they sat at tables in groups of approximately four. Each table had a printed mini mission, LEGO base plate, a pile of various LEGO bricks and two or three bags with yellow and orange bricks in them. To start, educators were asked to use the yellow and orange bricks to assemble a duck. Each group had the exact same pieces, the same directives, the same amount of time to build. Once we had assembled our ducks, teachers were asked to walk around the room and observe the different creations. We then asked them to reflect on what they noticed or observed. They shared that, while each of the ducks looked different, they all accomplished the same goal of building a duck. While the goal was clear, we allowed the learners to have the autonomy to design the path to get there. This activity showed how different people can think and encouraged them to bring a different approach to their lessons. Instead of showing them the way, we should consider giving our students an answer and looking at the different possibilities of problems instead of one problem and a fixed solution.

In the next activity, educators engaged in a hands-on, collaborative project designed to mirror student-centered, problem-solving experiences. Each table group was presented with two distinct “mini missions”—real-world climate challenges such as ocean pollution, humidity in caves, or urban bee habitats. Teams selected one mission to focus on, encouraging them to think critically and creatively without limitations. Using LEGO bricks, they worked together to devise and construct innovative solutions to their chosen environmental issue.

This exercise exemplified the principles of the LEGO® Build the Change program, which empowers students to tackle environmental challenges through creative design and problem-solving. The activity not only fostered teamwork and ingenuity among educators but also served as a model for engaging students in meaningful, playful learning experiences that address pressing global issues.

Playful learning is a way to bring engaging experiences for students while still teaching them and giving them structure. The power of play can result in a healthier classroom environment and help spark creativity in students. This concept is not only proven through research but heavily encouraged by specialists. The playful nature of these activities sparked new, more creative ideas, and overall so fun. This led to engaged participants and a good time for all.

Key Takeaways

The Build the Change experience—comprising the stages of immerse, create, and share—demonstrates a versatile framework that can be seamlessly integrated across all grade levels and subject areas. This approach fosters an environment where students are encouraged to engage deeply with real-world challenges, promoting active learning through hands-on activities.

• Empowering Student Voice: By tackling authentic environmental and societal issues, students develop a sense of agency, realizing that their ideas can contribute to meaningful change.
• Fostering Creativity and Critical Thinking: The open-ended nature of the challenges encourages students to think innovatively and critically, skills that are essential for problem-solving in various contexts.
• Enhancing Collaboration and Communication: Working in teams to design and build solutions cultivates collaborative skills and effective communication, preparing students for future academic and professional endeavors.
• Integrating Playful Learning: The use of LEGO bricks and other creative materials makes learning engaging and enjoyable, which can lead to increased motivation and retention of knowledge.

Educators observed that implementing the Build the Change methodology not only aligns with curriculum standards but also enriches the learning experience by making it more dynamic and student-centered. The adaptability of this approach allows for its application in diverse educational settings, making it a valuable tool for fostering holistic student development. In addition, they recognized the importance of integrating play into their own process as well. In short, they had fun and truly found this playful experience as a valuable one.

Day 2: Student Engagement at the STEAM Symposium

Overview

On Thursday, May 29, 2025, Stillwater Elementary proudly hosted its inaugural STEAM Symposium, marking a significant milestone in the school’s commitment to Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts, and Mathematics (STEAM) education. The event brought together educators, students, and community partners to celebrate and explore the multifaceted world of STEAM.

Event Highlights:

• Interactive Exhibits: Participants engaged with a variety of hands-on exhibits and demonstrations, showcasing the practical applications of STEAM concepts in everyday life.
• Student Engagement: Approximately 480 students, from kindergarten through fifth grade, rotated through the symposium in scheduled intervals, allowing them to experience diverse STEAM activities tailored to their grade levels.
• Community Collaboration: Local organizations and professionals contributed to the symposium by sharing insights into their STEAM-related fields, providing students with real-world connections to their classroom learning.

TAG’s Interactive Table Stations

At the 2025 Stillwater Elementary STEAM Symposium, Take Action Global (TAG) hosted two engaging and creative table stations designed to inspire students through hands-on, playful learning experiences.
Engineering Challenges: Our station at the STEAM Symposium was split between two tables. At the first table, we had LEGO’s set up with base plates and gave the students the mission to create their perfect classroom. There were no rules around what they could and couldn’t build and not much of a structured time other than the allotted time to go back to class and the other groups to come in. The students had an amazing time creating anything and everything they put their minds to. We saw students build things from rollercoasters to a garden and animal center, one student saying he loved the activity because, “It lets me use my very own imagination.” There was no pressure and it was wonderful to see the students’ creativity and teambuilding flourish.

• Artistic Explorations: The second table set up was a coloring station where students were given a piece of paper with the outline of a LEGO mini figure and drew themselves as a mini fig. They were encouraged to include things that they did to help their community, their environment, and the world. They included things like a bike to ride instead of a car, recycling, and helping animals. This was a great experience for the less outgoing and more artsy students who prefer a less extreme environment. It also provided them with something to take home and a reminder of the importance of fun, creativity, and our world around us.

Impact and Reflections

Facilitating these stations taught me the importance of creating an inclusive and supportive environment. By actively engaging with students, asking open-ended questions, and encouraging them to share their ideas, I observed increased participation and deeper thinking. This experience highlighted how facilitation strategies that prioritize student voice and choice can lead to more meaningful learning experiences .

Overall, being both a facilitator and observer at the station was incredibly rewarding. It reinforced my belief in the power of interactive, playful learning to inspire creativity and develop a sense of responsibility towards our planet. It also demonstrated the power of play. Every student who came to our table could participate. The LEGO bricks made the learning more engaging and accessible. All students and ideas were welcomed and celebrated.

Call To Action

Our recent trip to Stillwater Elementary and the STEAM Symposium highlighted the transformative power of play in education. As educators, it’s essential to recognize that play isn’t just for students—it’s a vital component of our own learning and growth.

Why Integrate Play into Education?

Research underscores the benefits of playful learning across all age groups. Incorporating play into professional development can lead to deeper engagement, enhanced creativity, and stronger collaboration among educators. For instance, using manipulatives like wooden cubes to generate project-based learning questions has been shown to produce higher-quality outcomes compared to traditional methods.

Action Steps for Educators:

1. Incorporate Play into Lessons: Design activities that allow students to explore concepts through games, role-play, or creative projects.
2. Embrace Play in Professional Development: Participate in workshops that use playful methods to explore teaching strategies, fostering a deeper understanding and retention of new concepts.
3. Foster a Playful Culture: Encourage a school environment where experimentation and creativity are valued, allowing both students and teachers to take risks and learn from failures.

By embracing play, we not only enrich our students’ learning experiences but also rejuvenate our passion for teaching. Let’s commit to making play an integral part of our educational journey!

Action Steps for Students:

1. Engage in Creative Problem-Solving: Participate in activities that challenge you to think critically and creatively. 
2. Reflect Through Artistic Expression: Use art to express your understanding of big concepts. 
3. Take Ownership of Your Learning: Look for ways to guide your own learning experiences. 
4. Advocate for Playful Learning: Encourage teachers and school administrators to incorporate more playful learning opportunities into the curriculum. 

Don’t be afraid to share your positive experiences and suggest activities that have helped you learn in enjoyable and meaningful ways. Learning should be fun. If it isn’t, then it is up to you to take action!

By: Lindsay and Riley Zilly