Editing Lego (section)

== Set themes ==
{{Further|List of Lego themes}}
[[File:Lego Sets In Store Leicester Square London United Kingdom.jpg|thumb|Lego sets of the Lego City theme]]

Since the 1950s, the Lego Group has released thousands of sets with a variety of themes, including [[Lego Space|space]], [[Lego Pirates|pirates]], [[Lego Trains|trains]], [[Lego Castle|(European) castle]], [[Lego Adventurers#Dino Island|dinosaurs]], [[Lego Aquazone|undersea exploration]], and [[Lego Wild West|wild west]], as well as wholly original themes like [[Bionicle]] and [[Hero Factory]]. Some of the classic themes that continue to the present day include [[Lego City]] (a line of sets depicting city life introduced in 1973) and [[Lego Technic]] (a line aimed at emulating complex machinery, introduced in 1977).{{sfn|Wiencek|1987|p=54}}

Over the years, the company has licensed themes from numerous cartoon and [[film franchise]]s and some from video games. These include ''[[Lego Batman|Batman]]'', ''[[Lego Indiana Jones|Indiana Jones]]'', ''[[Lego Pirates of the Caribbean|Pirates of the Caribbean]]'', ''[[Lego Harry Potter|Harry Potter]]'', ''[[Lego Star Wars|Star Wars]]'', ''[[Marvel Comics|Marvel]]'', [[Lego Minecraft|''Minecraft'']] and ''[[Wicked (2024 film)|Wicked]]''. Although some of these themes, such as Star Wars and Indiana Jones, had highly successful sales, the Lego Group expressed in 2015 a desire to rely more upon their own characters and classic themes and less upon such licensed themes.<ref>{{cite web |title=Lego Mindstorms and Harry Potter Will Continue. |url=http://www.lego.com/en-GB/aboutus/news-room/2004/january/mindstorms-and-harry-potter-will-continue |website=Lego |access-date=25 August 2015 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150914134304/http://www.lego.com/en-GB/aboutus/news-room/2004/january/mindstorms-and-harry-potter-will-continue |archive-date=14 September 2015}}</ref> Some sets include references to other themes, such as a Bionicle mask in one of the Harry Potter sets.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Yates |first=Jack |date=17 April 2021 |title=Five things you may have missed in the new LEGO Harry Potter sets |url=https://www.brickfanatics.com/five-things-you-may-have-missed-in-the-new-lego-harry-potter-sets/ |access-date=14 March 2022 |language=en-GB |archive-date=11 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220811001206/https://www.brickfanatics.com/five-things-you-may-have-missed-in-the-new-lego-harry-potter-sets/ |url-status=live}}</ref> Discontinued sets may become [[collectable]] and command value on the [[secondary market]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Lego enthusiast explains why the black market for the toy bricks is so lucrative |url=https://www.cbc.ca/radio/asithappens/as-it-happens-monday-edition-1.5971290/lego-enthusiast-explains-why-the-black-market-for-the-toy-bricks-is-so-lucrative-1.5974493 |access-date=9 April 2021 |work=[[CBC Radio]] |date=5 April 2021 |archive-date=8 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210408155819/https://www.cbc.ca/radio/asithappens/as-it-happens-monday-edition-1.5971290/lego-enthusiast-explains-why-the-black-market-for-the-toy-bricks-is-so-lucrative-1.5974493 |url-status=live}}</ref>

For the [[2012 Summer Olympics]] in [[London]], Lego released a special Team GB Minifigures series exclusively in the United Kingdom to mark the opening of the games. For the [[2016 Summer Olympics]] and [[2016 Summer Paralympics]] in [[Rio de Janeiro]], Lego released a kit with the Olympic and Paralympic [[mascot]]s [[Vinicius and Tom]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rio2016.com/en/news/mascots-tom-and-vinicius-debut-lego-look-for-rio-2016 |title=Mascots Tom and Vinicius debut Lego look for Rio 2016 |website=Rio 2016 |publisher=[[Rio 2016 Organising Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Games]] |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160523050056/https://www.rio2016.com/en/news/mascots-tom-and-vinicius-debut-lego-look-for-rio-2016 |archive-date=23 May 2016}}</ref>

One of the largest commercially produced Lego sets was a [[minifigure]]-scaled edition of the ''[[Star Wars]]'' ''[[Millennium Falcon]]''. Designed by Jens Kronvold Fredericksen, the Ultimate Collector's Millennium Falcon (set{{nbsp}}10179) was released in 2007 and contained 5,195 pieces. It was later surpassed by a 5,922-piece [[Taj Mahal]] (set{{nbsp}}10189). A redesigned Millennium Falcon (set{{nbsp}}75192) retook the top spot in 2017 with 7,541 pieces.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.brickjournal.com/news/2008/6/7/interview-with-lego-designer |title=Designing General Grievous |date=7 June 2008 |publisher=brickjournal.com |access-date=6 September 2008 |last=Meno |first=George |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080828055745/http://www.brickjournal.com/news/2008/6/7/interview-with-lego-designer |archive-date=28 August 2008 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Since then, the Millennium Falcon has been superseded by the Lego Art [[World Map]] (set{{nbsp}}31203) at 11,695 pieces, the Lego [[Titanic]] (set{{nbsp}}10294) at 9,090 pieces, and the Lego Architect Colosseum (set{{nbsp}}10276) at 9,036 pieces.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Top 30 Biggest LEGO Sets Ever |url=https://thecollector.io/features/the-30-biggest-lego-sets-ever |website=The Collector |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211107225525/https://thecollector.io/features/the-30-biggest-lego-sets-ever |archive-date=7 November 2021}}</ref>

In 2022, Lego introduced its [[Eiffel Tower]] (set{{nbsp}}10307), which consists of 10,001 parts and reaches a height of {{cvt|149|cm|-1}}, making it the tallest set and tower, but second in number of parts after the World Map.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.bosshunting.com.au/entertainment/lego-eiffel-tower/ |title=LEGO Is Now Slinging An Insane 1.5-Metre Tall Eiffel Tower Kit |website=www.bosshunting.com.au |date=21 November 2022 |access-date=22 November 2022 |archive-date=22 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221122081028/https://www.bosshunting.com.au/entertainment/lego-eiffel-tower/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Robotics themes ===
{{Main|Lego Mindstorms|Lego Mindstorms NXT|Lego Mindstorms NXT 2.0|Lego Mindstorms EV3}}
The company also initiated a [[robotics]] line of toys called Mindstorms in 1999, and continued to expand and update this range until it was eventually discontinued in 2022.<ref name="Mindstorms discontinued">{{cite web |url=https://www.brickfanatics.com/lego-discontinuing-mindstorms-end-of-2022/ |title=Lego is discontinuing Mindstorms in 2022 |website=Brick Fanatics |date=26 October 2022 |access-date=26 October 2022}}</ref> The roots of the product originated with a programmable brick developed at the [[MIT Media Lab]], and the name was taken from a paper by [[Seymour Papert]], a computer scientist and educator who developed the educational theory of [[Constructionism (learning theory)|constructionism]], and whose research was at times funded by the [[Lego Group]].<ref name="Mindstorms History">{{cite web |title=Mindstorms History |url=http://www.lego.com/en-us/mindstorms/history |website=Lego |access-date=6 September 2015 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150831053906/http://www.lego.com/en-us/mindstorms/history |archive-date=31 August 2015}}</ref>

The programmable Lego brick which was at the heart of these robotics sets underwent several updates and redesigns, with the last being called the 'EV3' brick, being sold under the name of Lego Mindstorms EV3. The set included various sensors such as touch, light, sound and ultrasonic waves, with several others being sold separately, including an [[Radio-frequency identification|RFID]] reader.<ref name="About EV3">{{cite web |title=About EV3 |url=http://www.lego.com/en-us/mindstorms/about-ev3 |website=Lego |access-date=6 September 2015 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150905160032/http://www.lego.com/en-us/mindstorms/about-ev3 |archive-date=5 September 2015}}</ref>

The programmable brick could be programmed using official software available for [[Microsoft Windows|Windows]] and [[Mac OS X|Mac]] computers. In the earliest iteration of the product, the program would be uploaded to the programmable brick via an infrared transmitter, while in later versions this was achieved via [[Bluetooth]] or a USB cable. Unofficial programming languages that can be used with Lego Mindstorms programmable bricks have also been developed.<ref name="Not Quite C">{{cite web |title=Not Quite C |url=https://bricxcc.sourceforge.net/nqc/ |website=Sourceforge |access-date=29 August 2024 |ref=Not Quite C}}</ref><ref name="Not eXactly C">{{cite web |title=Not eXactly C |url=https://bricxcc.sourceforge.net/nbc/ |website=Sourceforge |access-date=29 August 2024 |ref=Not eXactly C}}</ref>

There have been several robotics competitions which used the Lego robotics sets. The earliest was [[Botball]], a national U.S. [[middle school|middle]]- and [[high-school]] competition stemming from the MIT 6.270 Lego robotics tournament. Other Lego robotics competitions include FIRST LEGO League Discover for children ages 4–6, [[FIRST Lego League Explore|FIRST LEGO League Explore]] for students ages 6–9 and [[FIRST Lego League Challenge]] for students ages 9–16 (age 9–14 in the United States, Canada, and Mexico). These programs have offered real-world engineering challenges to participants using LEGO-based robots to complete tasks. In its 2019–2020 season, there were 38,609 FIRST LEGO League Challenge teams and 21,703 FIRST LEGO League Explore teams around the world. The international [[RoboCup Junior]] [[Association football|football]] competition involved extensive use of [[Lego Mindstorms]] equipment which was often pushed to its extreme limits.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.usfirst.org |title=USFIRST.org |publisher=USFIRST.org |access-date=3 October 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111003051426/http://www.usfirst.org/ |archive-date=3 October 2011}}</ref>

The capabilities of the Mindstorms range have also been harnessed for use in the Iko Creative Prosthetic System, a prosthetic limbs system designed for children. Designs for these Lego prosthetics allow everything from mechanical diggers to laser-firing spaceships to be screwed on to the end of a child's limb. Iko was the work of the Chicago-based Colombian designer Carlos Arturo Torres, and is a modular system that allows children to customise their own prosthetics with the ease of clicking together plastic bricks. Designed with Lego's Future Lab, the Danish toy company's experimental research department, and Cirec, a Colombian foundation for physical rehabilitation, the modular prosthetic incorporated myoelectric sensors that register the activity of the muscle in the stump and send a signal to control movement in the attachment. A processing unit in the body of the prosthetic contained an engine compatible with Lego Mindstorms, which allowed the wearer to build an extensive range of customised, programmable limbs.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/architecture-design-blog/2015/jul/22/lego-prosthetic-arm-that-kids-can-hack-themselves |title=The Lego prosthetic arm that children can create and hack themselves |first=Oliver |last=Wainwright |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=22 July 2015 |access-date=23 July 2015 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150723183344/http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/architecture-design-blog/2015/jul/22/lego-prosthetic-arm-that-kids-can-hack-themselves |archive-date=23 July 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://designawards.core77.com/Open-Design/29865/IKO-Creative-Prosthetic-System |title=IKO Creative Prosthetic System |work=[[Core77]] |access-date=23 July 2015 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150723184938/http://designawards.core77.com/Open-Design/29865/IKO-Creative-Prosthetic-System |archive-date=23 July 2015}}</ref>