Today we are honored to feature another guest article by educator and LEGO Masters USA contestant Corey Samuels. Corey shares his experience building sets from the newly revamped LEGO Friends theme with children in his local community.

Editor’s Introduction

As we mentioned during our end-of-year analysis, BrickNerd regained its Recognized LEGO Fan Media status (RLFM) in 2022. This increases our access to LEGO resources and enables us to deliver more in-depth articles for you than ever before—as our extra-nerdy “Nerdvember” 2022 can attest. It also occasionally provides us with opportunities to get early-access looks at upcoming LEGO sets before they are released.

While many of our RLFM counterparts focus on delivering the latest LEGO set release news as quickly as possible and then providing traditional reviews of the set-building experience, at BrickNerd we try to bring a different perspective by highlighting the ways those sets celebrate the creativity and diversity of the LEGO building community. This can take the shape of a “MOC Round-up” of past builds along the same theme or a deep-dive into a set’s cultural significance… and if all else fails, we know we can always send Bart back into the backwoods of Vermont to build them to an epic score (next up for him is “Duck Season”).

Back in late October 2022, another such opportunity came our way. BrickNerd was invited to participate in LEGO’s round-table discussion for the release of their revamped LEGO Friends theme. During the conference call, we learned about LEGO’s motivations for the Friends reboot and the thoughtfulness in how they approached increasing representation and diversity within their new cast of Friends characters. In the LEGO Group’s own words:

“Because the LEGO Group values children as its role models, this next generation of LEGO Friends has implemented input from kid testing, research and feedback from letters sent to the company, which all found children had a desire to see themselves, their friends and their families better represented...”

“At the LEGO Group, we understand that children want the characters they encounter to be more like the diverse personalities they meet in real-life", said Tracie Chiarella, Head of Product, LEGO Friends at the LEGO Group. “We’re continuously evolving our products so that they’re reflective of society today and that’s why we’re proud to launch this brand-new generation of LEGO Friends.”

When we asked about the level of effort it must have taken to not only undertake the research and design for the theme revamp (including the rebranding process across all LEGO’s entities like signature stores, theme parks, etc.), they had this to offer:

“It has been a huge team effort of a massive, massive team. And today is actually a huge milestone for us to be talking with you guys because we've been working on this for so long. So it's been a huge effort and it's not something we've taken lightly. We really feel that [the Friends relaunch] is the right decision [at the perfect time], and by having such a purpose in our life I think all of us have felt extremely motivated to do it.”

What we hadn’t learned during the call, but would soon discover, was that LEGO would be sending BrickNerd the whole first wave of 17 sets to evaluate… Wait, WHAT!?! 👀 (Using the wide-eyes emoji has never felt more appropriate.) In the words of our Nerd-in-Chief, “I can't handle that. Who on the team could handle that!?”

As we tend to do here at BrickNerd, we rallied together and brainstormed ideas on how we could approach this exciting (but daunting) opportunity, and our thoughts immediately went back to our own Friend in guest contributor Corey Samuels. Back in early November 2022, he wrote about what Marvel’s Black Panther means to the Black community, and how The LEGO Group could improve set accessibility and engagement within the Black community on meaningful sets like this. With the help of our amazing BrickNerd Patrons, we provided Corey with a 76215 Black Panther set to help him organize a group build for his community to experience.

Corey, surrounded by his team of Community Builders and their “Black Panther” set Build

We thought that the relaunch of the LEGO Friends theme would be another perfect opportunity for Corey to engage with his community and build upon his LEGO inclusion story. We reached out to Corey, and he was more than eager to take on the opportunity. He pulled together a new group of kids to see what they thought of the new line of Friends sets and all of the new stories they could build with them. Below are the results from his latest community engagement build.

Take it away, Corey!

Friends Forever

From the time I started playing with LEGO and for as long as I could remember, LEGO had always been labeled a “toy for boys.” For years I had played with LEGO, attracted by all the themes they produced that let me “Control The Action!” However, my female friends found it difficult to connect to LEGO because of their lack of representation in those themes. The launch of the LEGO Friends theme ten years ago finally helped open the opportunity for even more children to connect with LEGO, beyond the one token female character in past classic themes (Castles, Space, City, etc…).

LEGO Friends was launched as a theme in January 2012 in North America (December 2011 in France), with the release of 14 sets. The first wave included 23 sets and featured five Friends named Andrea, Olivia, Stephanie, Mia, and Emma who all lived in the suburban settings of Heartlake City. After 10 years, those five original Friends have all grown up and achieved their dreams, and now eight new Friends are ready to have their own stories told. What an exciting time to invite some new Friends of my own to come and share in the LEGO building experience!

In partnership with BrickNerd, I created an opportunity for 13 young females to build with these newest LEGO Friends sets, hosted at Sunny Side Studio in New Jersey. As the participants of my past community builds have predominantly been boys, I purposefully gave the female segment of my community an opportunity for their own dedicated introduction to LEGO. Since the original Friends launch had made such an effort to engage and represent female interests, I wanted to see if the revamp would have a similar impact on girls today.

Building Together

The community build event was held on December 23rd, 2022. With LEGO providing so many sets via BrickNerd for this community build, each child was able to receive their very own set to build. (As an added surprise, they would also be able to take the set home with them afterward; it was theirs to keep!) For the 13 young participants, this was a wonderful experience as they had never had the opportunity to build a LEGO set without the condition that they had to share it with someone else.

At the start of the event, I asked the group one question, “How many of you ever build with LEGO?” Out of the 13 children, only five had actually built with LEGO before that day. The remaining eight had a partial familiarity with a sibling that plays with LEGO. With that revelation, I couldn’t have them wait any longer to try building for themselves. It was time to bring out the sets.

As the various Friends sets were placed out on the tables in front of them, the level of excitement in the room grew with anticipation. Big smiles could be seen all around the room as the group looked over these colorful set boxes. The striking cover art amplified the eagerness each child felt as they prepared to build, while still trying to attentively listen to the instructions I gave them.

Speaking of instructions, many of the participants were nervous in the beginning because they were unaware that LEGO sets include building instruction booklets inside of the box. Not only that but learning to read those building instructions was an entirely new experience for them. This was a teachable moment.

As I moved around the floor, I was able to show each of them how to read LEGO instructions: matching the pictures to the build, locating the next parts to assemble, showing the images regarding when to open Bag 1, Bag 2, etc… The kids found that LEGO actually made this portion of the building experience really easy.

As an example, I asked one of the children who hadn’t built with LEGO before, “So what do you think? Is this set Easy or Difficult?” Her response was that “it’s difficult… but [the instructions are] easy to read. I usually don’t follow directions this well.”

We had a wide range of ages for this community build (with ages ranging from 6 to 13). Despite the age range, the sets were brilliantly illustrated to where it ended up being a fun experience for everyone. Even the parents were impressed by the appearance of the set boxes and booklets. In the end, the girls became big fans of the instruction booklets (once they got used to them) and the colorful stories told throughout all of the illustrations on the box.

During BrickNerd’s round-table discussion with LEGO, they learned that the instruction booklets were a focus for the Friends revamp as well. The Friends development team told them the following:

“We're using the first page of the building instructions to introduce the characters. And we have included some really nice new details that start the storytelling as the set’s parts come together, and then throughout the rest of the model building. We also have included what we call play breaks where we're going to give kids the chance to play out stories that we suggest with the model. Of course, they can come up with their own stories as well, but it's just to make sure that kids are getting the experience that we intended for them to enjoy.”

The fact that this revamped Friends line is one of the most diverse series ever with true skin tones also made for an impactful experience for the participants. As they connected to the different Friends minidoll characters, each participant was driven to look back at the boxes and instruction booklets to learn more about their stories. It is plain to see that the diversity in the Friends line is so much richer and different from the other sets LEGO produces.

For example, in the Dog Rescue Van (41741) set, one of the participants was taken aback by seeing a paralyzed dog in the set. It’s the little details like that which make the Friends line so relatable and engaging to the participants. For some of the participants, this was their first time ever seeing a toy highlight such a real disability in people and in their pets. A lot of the participants found this inclusion in the sets to be refreshing.

Over the years, LEGO has been trying to overcome the stigma of historically being just another “boy’s toy”, and with the Friends sets they have certainly taken steps in the right direction. Throughout this experience, I found that having the all-girls community build event invigorated each of the participants and empowered them to be creative and build a world using their imagination.

One child said, “This set is so much fun. Usually I would play with my brother’s LEGO set.” I let her know that LEGO Friends have been around for a long time though, and she replied “Yes, but this set has new characters. I like that.“

The event also had an impact on their parents too. A lot of them were unaware of how far LEGO has come with their brand. The parents expressed to me how they planned to invest in more LEGO for their children, based on how their child reacted to the set and the building experience. One parent shared a thought about one of the sets (41730 Autumn’s House) with me while in tears: "This is the most beautiful LEGO set I've ever seen. For the person who it is going to, it does a lot to raise awareness for children with physical deformities.”

Screen catpure from Autumn’s “Meet the new Friends” video on LEGO.com

Asking these kinds of questions to the participants and their parents is so important to me, and hearing their answers is always so rewarding. It is always my goal to create an inclusive space for my students, free from judgment, open to possibilities, and an ever-growing environment. As this event was the first time many participants had built a LEGO set (much less snapping LEGO pieces together), it is a very encouraging sentiment.

In the end, each participant had a wonderful time building these LEGO Friends sets, which they discovered are so full of enthusiasm and more inclusive than any toy they currently have. Even at a young age, these children are more self-aware of who they are and what brands represent them. Due to the fact that these Friends sets were for some their very first introduction to LEGO, I could tell their experience was going to foster a long-lasting interest in the LEGO brand.

Final Thoughts

As a LEGO Master, I see it as my responsibility to introduce LEGO in a way that evokes thought and curiosity in the brand. I am always fascinated when I see the reaction of kids who have never played with LEGO but are so enticed by the brand. There are so many children that would love the toy of LEGO, but when there is limited opportunity to find a set that they identify with, they simply go to an alternative. I believe the direction LEGO is going with their revamped Friends line is the right move to encourage more inclusivity and more connection to other communities. This updated look to the fan-favorite theme has created a renewed opportunity for new LEGO fans to find a space for themselves in the LEGO universe—and to be welcomed into it with a familiar, friendly face.

The kids were so thankful to have this opportunity and were floored when I told them that they could keep their set and continue working on them at home. One of the participants blurted out loud, “I never get to keep anything, much less something I get to play with!” which made me smile and made this opportunity so fulfilling.

Corey with all of the particpants in the “Friends Community Build”

I want to thank The LEGO Group and BrickNerd for providing this amazing opportunity to not only build these sets but to introduce the LEGO Friends theme to a whole new group of young children. From what I saw, they will be a generation that grows up seeing that LEGO is not “just a boy’s toy” but is a “toy that’s just for me.”

Which of the new LEGO Friends do you identify with the most? Let us know in the comments below!

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