LEGO Super-playful Library emphasizes the power of play
The LEGO Super-playful Library exhibition opened at Shanghai Library East Branch.
The east branch of Shanghai Library has launched the Super-playful Library exhibition cooperating with LEGO Group to encourage more parents to recognize the power of play in daily life.
The special library themed around playful learning integrates creative installations, children's collaborative building works, and special reading and play areas.
The exhibition, spread across the first and seventh floors, will run through September 1. On the first floor is the children's reading area, where 40 young readers have built their vision of a "Super-playful library" using LEGO bricks.
The book corner is inspired by a sushi train.
Nine-year-old Theon said: "My machine can showcase books like my favorite sushi train." This idea is realized with a revolving book corner on the first floor where books are displayed on a conveyor belt, laid out on brick-built sushi plates, allowing children free access to reading.
The first floor also features a treehouse book corner accessible via a rainbow staircase, a claw machine-style book grabber, a kaleidoscope of a million magical patterns, and a universal book translator capable of decoding foreign languages.
A claw machine-style book grabber is displayed at the exhibition.
The book kaleidoscope displayed in the children's reading area is based on a 5-year-old reader's idea.
The seventh-floor hosts themed play-and-read areas titled "The Book of Iconic Stories," "The Big Bang of Imagination," and "The Big Book of Cars," which incorporate play into reading, enabling children to gain knowledge through various interactive challenges.
In the Book of Iconic Stories area, traditional Chinese tales like the story of Sun Wukong (Monkey King) acquiring his magical staff are turned into large interactive games. Children can build characters and scenes with bricks and photograph them in settings like the Dragon Palace under the sea. In the Friends Botanical Garden Adventure chapter, they can create and place plants in a botanical garden setup. The Ugly Duckling story uses open-ended questions to provoke thoughts on beauty and aesthetics.
The Book of Iconic Stories area features classic storybooks.
The Big Bang of Imagination area simulates a spaceship experience, complete with interactive screens for observation of the solar system's mysteries. After learning, children can build different planets with bricks.
The Big Book of Cars features a car mechanics exhibit where, after reading about aerodynamics, children can change a tire and choose the best car to simulate driving on various terrains, applying their new-found knowledge in a fun way.
The Big Bang of Imagination area simulates a spaceship experience.
The Big Book of Cars features information about the aerodynamics of cars.
This exhibition turns the imaginations of children about a "Super-playful Library" into reality, ensuring that rigorous knowledge is not only absorbed but also applied in a fun way.
"Today, libraries are not just places for reading as they also serve to disseminate knowledge about science, art, and culture," said Xia Lei, director of the Reading Promotion Center of Shanghai Library.
"I saw many creative ideas from children during this event, providing new thoughts and directions for our 'Era of Big Reading and Smart Composite Libraries.' In the future, I hope to incorporate these creative ideas into real library scenarios," she added.
Stella Shen, vice president of marketing of LEGO China said, "Through this event we hope to make more parents aware of the importance of play in children's development, helping them better prepare for the uncertainties of the future world."
Coinciding with the Shanghai Book Fair, this crossover event represents a new approach to reading by integrating play, making knowledge not just a matter of rote learning but a tool for creative realization, helping children face future challenges.
Wang Yuheng, former captain of the Chinese team on the TV show "Super Brain" and "LEGO Play Ambassador," said: "Play allows people to venture out and recognize their deficiencies, which they can then specifically address and compensate for. Before smartphones, we used libraries to search and find books. Play is a form of practice where we can identify problems and shortcomings and then seek answers in books."
The LEGO Play Well Report 2024 indicates that children's playtime is still insufficient – in China, 85 percent of parents believe that children's playtime and space are increasingly limited, and 58% say that children lack adequate and safe play spaces.
Projects like the LEGO Super-playful Library encourage society to value children's play as a creative practice.
Aside from the collaboration with Shanghai Library, three "LEGO Super-playful Caravans" embarked on a national tour on August 16. They will visit 18 cities across the country. The caravans will unfold into exploration camps that combine exhibitions, interactions, experiences, and collaborative building, emphasizing the power of play in daily life.
Installations for the exhibition are on displayed just outside the library in Pudong New Area.
Exhibition info
Opening hours: 10am-7pm, closed on Monday (1/F); 9am-5pm, closed on Monday (7/F)
Venue: Shanghai Library East Branch
Address: 300 Hehuan Rd 合欢路300号
Tickets: Free
