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Lego Connections at TLA Academy
Build. Imagine. Problem-Solve. Connect.
TLA Academy’s LEGO Connections is a hands-on STEM enrichment class where imagination meets engineering. Using LEGO® bricks and building challenges, students explore foundational concepts in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) while developing creativity, problem-solving, collaboration, and confidence
Course Overview
LEGO Connections turns building into an opportunity for exploration, experimentation, and discovery.
Students are presented with age-appropriate building challenges that encourage them to plan, design, construct, test, and improve their creations. Depending on the activity, learners may investigate concepts such as simple machines, motion, structures, balance, gears, forces, measurement, and engineering design.
Some activities may include motorized LEGO® builds, giving students an opportunity to see how movement and mechanical systems work in action.
The emphasis isn't simply on following instructions to create a model.
Students are encouraged to ask questions, make predictions, try their own ideas, troubleshoot problems, and discover what happens when they make changes to a design.
What We’ll Explore
LEGO Connections introduces K–3 learners to basic STEM concepts through fun, hands-on building activities. Students may explore:
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Building & Design — planning and creating LEGO builds
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Strong Structures — discovering what makes towers, bridges, and buildings strong
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Simple Machines — exploring wheels, gears, axles, and movement
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Motorized Builds — making LEGO creations move
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Math Through Building — practicing counting, patterns, shapes, and measurement
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Creative Challenges — using imagination to solve fun building challenges
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Problem-Solving — trying, testing, changing, and trying again
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Teamwork — building, sharing, and creating with friends
What Learning Looks Like
Each LEGO Connections class combines a STEM concept with an engaging building experience.
A typical class might look like:
Discover → Imagine → Build → Test → Improve → Share
Students might be challenged to build the strongest bridge, create a moving machine, design a vehicle, investigate gears, construct a tall but stable tower, or find their own solution to an engineering problem.
From Builders to Young Engineers
LEGO Connections is about much more than building with bricks.
As students work through challenges, they naturally practice planning, sequencing, spatial reasoning, fine-motor skills, persistence, flexible thinking, communication, and collaboration.
When a creation doesn't work the first time, that's part of the learning.
Students are encouraged to ask:
What happened? Why did it happen? What could I change? What should I try next?
This process helps children begin developing an engineering mindset—seeing challenges as opportunities to experiment, improve, and try again.
Different Builders. Different Solutions.
There isn't always one correct way to solve a LEGO Connections challenge.
Some learners may follow a model or visual instructions, while others may modify a design or create something completely original. Activities can be adapted to different learning, motor, communication, and problem-solving levels.
The goal isn't for every student to build the same thing. It's to give every student an opportunity to think, create, experiment, and experience success.
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