The last time I had the opportunity to go for Legoland Malaysia site visit was in April 2012 when Mr Siegfried Boerst (General Manager, LEGOLAND® Malaysia, announced the official opening day that is on 15th September 2012. Then the construction of the first such theme park in Asia is moving smoothly and that leads to Legoland bring forward previous schedule to open the gate to visitors to an earlier date. Many rides had arrived and ready to be fixed while landscaping and other preparations are moving.
While counting down to the day when her gate is opened to visitors, Legoland Malaysia runs activities to stir interest of the public and feel their presence. Legoland in Malaysia launched an innovative LEGO® building competition challenging school children nationwide to build national icons out of LEGO bricks and it was launched on 17th July at SK (P) Sultan Ibrahim School in Johor Bahru by LEGOLAND®. This is the first LEGO building contest of its kind in Asia and it is set to take Malaysia by storm. The contest aims to inspire creative learning and develop national education values amongst pupils.
While Lego bricks are child play, adults too can be engrossed manipulating the coloured bricks constructing things according to their imagination, this building competition is expected to move along the line. While capturing the imagination of children, the contest is expected to be widely supported by teachers and parents alike, amidst the growing recognition that children primarily think and learn through experiences rather than through abstract calculations and generalizations.
Performers from SK (P) Sultan Ibrahim School with Mr Abdul Rahman Bin Abdul Rahim (JPNJ Johor Education Department), Mr Siegfried Boerst (General Manager, LEGOLAND® Malaysia and Mr Johari Bin Suhadak (District of Education Johor Bahru).
THE COMPETITION
LEGOLAND® Malaysia Launch LEGO® Building Craze To Construct National Icons For Malaysian Schools.
Participation - all school children in Malaysia and Singapore aged between four and fourteen years old. Each school is allowed to register five teams and each team can consist of up to a maximum of 10 students.
Categories - A: 4 - 5 year old, B: 6 - 10 year old, C: 11 - 14 year old.
Objectives - to foster student interaction and teamwork by inviting schools to register teams.
Judging - The contest will have two rounds and the winners of each category will eventually be picked based on a voting system.
In Round 1, schools register their teams, design and build their icons and upload the image to a dedicated microsite by the 17th August to be judged by a panel. The microsite will go live on contest launch date, 17th July 2012.
In Round 2 beginning 19th August 2012, once the selection process is complete, ten finalists will be announced and they will be asked to promote their designs online.
Public voting will close on the 31st August 2012 to decide the winners .
Result Announcement - 3rdSeptember 2012 the teams with the highest number of votes per contest category will be announced and every member of each winning team will receive 5 day passes to LEGOLAND Malaysia.
Panel of Judges - The professional judging panel will comprise of LEGOLAND master model builders as well as selected senior management from the company.
“Education has always been an important agenda for LEGOLAND. Creativity, imagination, fun, learning, care and quality are pillars of the LEGOLAND brand. Legoland believe in play as an effective way of teaching children and our brand has always engaged in encouraging creative learning,” said Siegfried Boerst, General Manager of LEGOLAND Malaysia.
He added “we believe LEGO bricks are a great tool for improving learning as it helps students to be dynamic and it helps harness problem solving skills. LEGO bricks can help children develop life-long skills such as out-of-the-box thinking. Besides that, we also want to inspire children to develop love and ownership for their country from a young age and this is a great start.”
Further details about the competetion can be obtained from LEGOLAND Malaysia official website
HERE.
Mr Siegfried Boerst (General Manager, LEGOLAND® Malaysia) presenting token of appreciation to Mr Abdul Rahman Bin Abdul Rahim (JPNJ Johor Education Department).
Mr Siegfried Boerst (General Manager, LEGOLAND® Malaysia) presenting token of appreciation to Mr Johari Bin Suhadak (District of Education Johor Bahru).
Mr Siegfried Boerst (General Manager, LEGOLAND® Malaysia) discussing LEGO® building with SK (P) Sultan Ibrahim School pupils.
Mr Siegfried Boerst (General Manager, LEGOLAND® Malaysia) discussing LEGO® building with SK (P) Sultan Ibrahim School pupils.
LEGOLAND® Master Modeller demonstrating to the children from SK (P) Sultan Ibrahim and visiting schools.
School pupils with “Buddy”, one of the LEGOLAND® Mascots.
About LEGOLAND Malaysia
LEGOLAND Malaysia is the sixth LEGOLAND to be built in the world and the very first in Asia. Targeted at families with children between the ages of two to twelve years, LEGOLAND Parks are based on the universally popular LEGO construction toy range. They offer families the opportunity to bond, learn and push the boundaries of their imaginations through LEGO experiences. At LEGOLAND, families can practice their imagination and creativity, have fun while learning, and understand the importance of caring and quality. Families will be immersed in a unique mix of kid-powered rides, building challenges, spectacular LEGO models, interactive attractions, family-friendly coasters and shows that pull the audience into the action. LEGOLAND Malaysia will feature more than 40 interactive rides, shows and attractions when it opens.
Other LEGOLAND theme parks across the world are situated in Denmark, United Kingdom, Germany and USA with Florida and California locations. There are LEGOLAND Hotels in the Parks in Denmark and the UK; with a hotel scheduled to open in California in 2013.
LEGOLAND Malaysia will be located in Iskandar Malaysia and is made possible through IDR Resorts and Merlin Entertainments Groups, the world’s second largest visitor attraction operator.
