Residents at Elm Bank care home go Lego crazy with local Scout Group

Every year on January 28th, Lego fans and enthusiast around the world come together to celebrate all things Lego and the creator of the iconic brick, Godtfred Kirk Christiansen who submitted his patent for the Lego brick on January 28th 1958.

Lego began in the Danish town of Billund, when Ole Kirk Christiansen founded a small woodworking company. In 1932, the company adopted the name ‘Lego,’ derived from the Danish words ‘leg godt,’ meaning ‘play well.’ In the late 1940s the company transitioned from wooden toys to plastic, which we now know as the iconic Lego brick.

Not only an enjoyable toy and source of entertainment, Lego can and has been a great tool in education. Many different schools and colleges across the country have incorporated it into their learning, with Lego promoting problem solving, teamwork and helping with spatial awareness.

At Elm Bank care home, the residents had a great evening, building various creations and sharing in the joy of creativity with, The 23rd Kettering Scouts group who will be celebrating 10 years of running next year, based in the William Knibb Centre on Montagu Street in Kettering. Activities Co-ordinator, Tina said: “It has been so lovely to share in the joy that Lego has brought on International Lego Day, it has reminded many of our residents of playing with their children and grandchildren. It is amazing how Lego can be so universally enjoyable and accessible. It is wonderful to see how something as simple as some Lego can bring people together and spark both creativity and reminiscence, I think pretty much everyone remembers playing with Lego at some time in their lives. We all enjoyed making some models, some more elaborate than others, I always found it really difficult to follow the instructions personally but some of our residents are very talented model makers and much more patient than me. It was great to see the young and the old mix, and it truly enriches the lives of the residents and the children.

Elm Bank care home is run by Barchester Healthcare, one of the UK’s largest care providers, which is committed to delivering personalised care across its care homes and hospitals. Elm Bank provides residential and dementia care for residents from respite care to long term stays.