From Froebel Blocks to LEGO® Serious Play®: How History and Play Shapes Design, Creativity and Education

Show and tell time. A new piece for my traveling "design museum" arrived. Have you ever seen something like this before?

Ever hear of Froebel Blocks?

What do Frank Lloyd Wright, the Eames, and Buckminster Fuller have in common? They all played with Froebel Blocks as children.

Recently, I got my hands on a set of these century-old blocks, originally designed by Friedrich Froebel—the inventor of kindergarten itself. Seeing them up close made me reflect on how foundational play and hands-on learning are to creativity and innovation.

This approach isn’t just history—it’s a method we can still learn from today. The simple act of building, experimenting, and integrating ideas mirrors how we construct new knowledge, much like the way we piece together insights from different sources to create a new post—whether it's from experiences, AI tools like ChatGPT, museums, or even a chance find on eBay.

In my workshops and programs, we explore how methods like Lego Serious Play and other tactile learning techniques can enhance innovation, facilitation, and training. Sometimes, the most powerful tools for creativity aren’t new at all—they’re timeless.

(Check out my post on this topic: https://www.innovationtraining.org/froebel-blocks-lego-serious-play-kindergarten-and-design-education/)

Thanks to Taliesin and the Design Museum in London for the education and inspiration.

You can also follow me on on LinkedIn to see more of these demos.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/darineich/

Best,

Darin Eich, Ph.D.
Founder, InnovationTraining.org