3, 2, 1, takeoff!
The LEGO City Mars Spacecraft Exploration Missions set has all the proper equipment to prepare kids ages 6 and up for their next space adventures — in a digital dimension!
This kit comes with all the same components as a typical LEGO set but is made even cooler by offering kids the chance to build their spacecraft with the help of the LEGO Building Instructions mobile app. The interactive app takes kids through animated video segments led by LEGO characters Lieutenant Rivera and Dr. Wexler and includes a story-based, step-by-step guide on how to construct each part of the kit. Kids can easily click through each video when they want to move on to the next step, and the app offers pauses when kids need a break to put down their mobile devices and continue building.
Within the app, there are multiple “missions” for this set. First, kids will construct their spaceship in missions 1 and 2, which take about an hour or two. When they are finished building, the app will unlock six additional missions to test the durability of their spacecraft and their astronautic STEM skills. These include a crash landing, making moon slingshots, star cruising, and more. While kids can play these activities through the app, they can use their imagination to recreate the missions with the physical spacecraft and figurines. The activities present different challenges, which kids must resolve by adding additional features to the spacecraft to give it different digital functions in the app. For example, to make the spacecraft move quicker through space, kids construct boosters that they can add to the physical LEGO spaceship.
Kids can only move on to the next mission when the previous one is complete, but once all of the missions are completed, kids can replay the videos in any order they choose. Through these interactive, digital-meets-physical activities, kids can engage in innovative methods of imaginative play and improve their problem-solving skills.
This set includes 298 pieces, which kids use to build the spacecraft and dress the LEGO figures up in uniforms. One of the best features of the set is that kids can deconstruct and recreate it over and over again, rebuilding the spacecraft a different way each time! The mobile app also gives kids inspiration for different ways they can build the astronauts’ suits and the spacecraft itself. By clicking different icons on the screen throughout the instruction videos, the app displays pop-ups with tips and ideas for different designs. The pieces are easy to build and take apart, so kids can easily build any type of spaceship they want.
The set costs $39.99, a reasonable price for all of its features. With the opportunity to play with the set both physically and digitally, kids will explore the endless space adventures again and again!
