Now, though, there are more options for cool toys like this… and your bare feet will be thankful. For many years, kids wanting to play “army” were relegated to plastic little green army men or - finally - little green army women. The company announced last year that it would discontinue the long-running Mindstorms lineup in favor of other priorities under its “Lego Education” and “Build & Code” programs.Remote control army tanks are today’s higher-tech version of classic army toys. Lego first introduced programmable robots that utilized its bricks in the late 1990s.

The company’s “Education BricQ Motion Essential Hybrid Learning Classroom Starter Pack” reportedly costs nearly $2,000. for a CTE K-12 Robotics Resources program or Lego Resources.Īccording to the report, Lego also develops educational programs to provide students with early lessons and hands-on experience with robotics and coding - including teaching materials and recommendations - and Defense Department officials hope to promote those initiatives in the nation's K-12 educational institutions. Instead, the money from the department’s Office of Defense Education Activity will go to Connecticut-based Lego Systems Inc.

The Pentagon, however, isn’t necessarily looking for engineering expertise from the iconic building block manufacturer. But it also includes toymakers.Ī filing on government contracting database SAM.gov - uncovered in a report by - disclosed that an arm of Danish toy company Lego received a contract worth nearly $2.1 million from a Defense Department agency in July. Department of Defense includes many of the world’s largest military contractors, shipbuilders, and aircraft developers. The list of companies receiving awards from the U.S. Sign up here to get the day’s top stories delivered straight to your inbox.

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Battle tanks toy