When Parents Inspire Learning: Creativity, LEGO, and Design Thinking at ISP

On 30 January, the ISP community was delighted to welcome Christian Thor Larsen, Vice President of Global Brick Marketing for the Lego Group and a dedicated ISP parent, to the Elementary Gathering, for an inspiring presentation centered on creativity and design thinking.

Mr. Larsen shared the story behind one of LEGO’s most ambitious projects to date: the creation of a life-sized LEGO Formula 1 race car built entirely to scale. This project was a triumph of design and collaboration, resulting in ten F1 cars constructed from 460,000+ LEGO bricks.

“Students were very passionate and more excited than I even thought, I often forget the job I have and it reminds me of how important it is to be creative with your hands.” 
Christian Thor Larsen, LEGO VP, ISP Parent

Following the presentation, students presented their own creativity to envision a future ISP LEGO Sculpture Installation. Demonstrating remarkable ingenuity, they brainstormed concepts that reflect ISP’s identity, such as a rotating ISP logo, highlighting our "4Cs" at ISP and featuring Frankie the Falcon, our school mascot. 

 

As a parent of three ISP students, one of whom was present for the gathering, Mr. Larsen reflected on the unique value of an ISP education. He highlighted that the school’s greatest strength lies in the diverse perspectives students gain from ISP. He noted that this global mindset is essential for navigating and succeeding in the world beyond the classroom.

"We were thrilled to invite and highlight a member of our ISP community to share how they use design thinking in their everyday work. Whenever possible, we aim to connect real life applications to what students are learning about in school. What a cool experience for our students to hear about and inspire future STEM projects!"  Amy Garrett, ES Design and Innovation Coach

Our monthly Elementary Gatherings provide an opportunity for student voice and leadership, sharing and celebrating the learning happening in our classes and building our community. Each gathering focuses on one of the IB Learner Profile Attributes. This particular gathering spotlighted being a thinker: focusing on creative and critical thinking and highlighting learning in our STEM rotations, design thinking and science lego education kits at ISP.

“We want our students to develop, understand and transfer their knowledge and skills into the real world. It was great to have christian show the students how “playing” is actually a high level career skill that perfectly bridges the gap between the classroom and the real world.” 
Dax Garret, ES PE Teacher

We can't wait to see what ISP students will design and build next!