From LEGO® Masterpieces to Digital Citizenship

This week, the Discovery Science and Technology Centre unveiled its spectacular CURIOSITY Exhibition: Building Breakthroughs in LEGO® Bricks, and Bendigo has officially become the coolest town on the planet (at least until November, when the exhibition continues its global tour).  How lucky are the kids of Bendigo, both the little ones and the “big kids” who are clearly there just to supervise?

The displays are absolutely mind-blowing. We are talking extraordinary skill and next-level patience.  One masterpiece required an incredible 1,065 hours (close to six months), to assemble using a staggering 157,632 bricks.  That is not simply a LEGO build, but a long-term commitment.  And here is a fun fact: with just six standard 2x4 bricks in one colour, there are more than 915 million possible combinations.  Add different colours and the number jumps to over 658 billion.  Suddenly, those stunning creations seem less impossible and more mathematically inevitable!

The Girls in STEM Club were first to tour the exhibition  After admiring the intricate structures, they tested their own chromatic and visual skills by creating tiny 5 cm x 5 cm panels.  These miniature masterpieces will form part of a much larger collaborative display as more panels are added.  With several giant builds underway, everyone will have the chance to discover whether they are master builders or enthusiastic reinterpretation experts.

The session continued with a thoughtful discussion about digital citizenship, what it means to belong to an online community and how we use technology to connect, learn and share.  Conversations ranged from daily screen time (“just a few minutes” to “is it morning already?”) to how online experiences can influence emotions.

Working in pairs, the girls explored the digital footprint of Kendal Fairweather, with her permission.  They found professional profiles and public information, but nothing from her childhood, a reminder that growing up before social media had its advantages.

The message was clear: think before you post, protect personal information, and always verify what you read online.  Through a coding game created by Kendal, the girls learned that not everything online is true.  Their final challenge, creating coded true stories, impressed waiting parents, who enjoyed a special preview of their daughters’ digital creations.

Bendigo’s future innovators are building far more than LEGO models, they are building bright, thoughtful futures.