This school year, the Naperville Education Foundation (NEF) invested $58,850 to introduce an exciting new learning resource into Naperville Community Unit School District 203 elementary classrooms: LEGO® Education Science.
Released this year by LEGO Education, the program is a brand-new curriculum designed to make science learning more hands-on and engaging. Through NEF’s early investment, Naperville 203 became one of the first school districts in the country to adopt and begin using the resource.
The science kits are currently being used in kindergarten through 3rd grade classrooms, reaching more than 4,000 students across the district. Through hands-on building and collaborative exploration, students learn key scientific concepts while developing creativity, curiosity, and teamwork.
Rather than simply reading about scientific ideas, students actively construct models that demonstrate how those concepts work. As they build, test, and refine their designs, they strengthen their problem-solving, critical thinking, and collaboration skills.
One lesson, for example, challenges students to explore a real-world environmental issue: helping salmon migrate safely through a river system that includes a hydroelectric dam.
Students begin by learning how dams, while important for generating electricity, can disrupt the natural migration patterns of salmon. Working in teams, they design and build solutions that allow young salmon (smolts) to travel downstream to the ocean while also helping adult salmon return upstream to lay their eggs.
Using LEGO components, students test their designs, make improvements, and collaborate to create structures that reduce the dam’s impact on the salmon life cycle. They then present their solutions and connect their ideas to real-world engineering approaches used to support salmon migration.
The lesson also encourages deeper thinking by asking students how they might monitor the effectiveness of their solution over time, mirroring the way scientists and engineers evaluate environmental solutions in the real world.
To support a successful rollout, approximately 40 Naperville 203 teachers participated in hands-on training in early December. The sessions introduced educators to the kits and demonstrated how to guide students through inquiry-based science lessons.
Following the training, LEGO Education Science began rolling out in classrooms across the district in mid-December and has quickly become a highlight of the school day for many students.
Teachers are already seeing the impact through increased engagement and enthusiasm.
Mrs. Lila Engelbrecht, a third-grade teacher at Naper Elementary School, shared how much her students enjoy the new learning experience.
“My students are absolutely loving them—in fact, they ask if we are doing ‘LEGO science’ every single day when they walk through the door! The lessons are incredibly engaging, and it has been wonderful to watch the students collaborate so effectively to solve problems. Thank you for providing such a great resource.”
Investments like this reflect NEF’s ongoing commitment to supporting innovation in Naperville 203 classrooms. By funding new resources, the foundation helps teachers create fresh, engaging learning experiences for students across the district.
With LEGO Education Science now in classrooms, students are not just learning about science - they are building it, testing it, and discovering it together.
And if the excitement in classrooms is any indication, “LEGO science” may quickly become one of the most anticipated parts of the school day.
