When the first astronaut trained under the Australian flag and Australian Space Agency team member, Katherine Bennell-Pegg, did a meet-and-greet at the LEGO store in Sydney’s Pitt Street Mall on Tuesday, 16 July, it shone a light on the role toys can play in inspiring a new generation of astronauts and space research.
“While there is no end to the amount of STEM or science-based space toys designed to engage those who love that aspect of the category, there are few options for those who want to explore the ‘fun’, ‘creative’ and ‘discovery’ of what space offers,” says Troy Taylor, Vice President & General Manager, Australia & New Zealand at The LEGO Group.
And with the company’s new study finding that 87 per cent of Australian kids are interested in finding new planets, stars and galaxies, the draw of the undiscovered is inspiring Aussie kids to imagine what lurks in the great unknown, with the study also revealing that 63 per cent believe aliens exist and that more than half (59 per cent) would like to meet one.
The truth is out there … in regional Australia
“To find out that 70 per cent of children aged six-12 want to travel to space was so exciting,” Taylor told EducationDaily.
“We have a few thoughts on why this figure is so high. Firstly, we know that 96 per cent of the universe is still waiting to be discovered. That alone sparks intrigue in young minds.”

That data from the young Australians was the inspiration to create a unique activation aimed at fostering Australian children’s imagination and curiosity.
“We built a well-known subject of intrigue and mystery often associated with space, a crop circle. To bring the crop circle to life, we set up a base in the small town of Narromine in rural New South Wales, just outside of Dubbo,”
The massive crop circle spanned 50 metres in diameter and was large enough that it could be seen from the sky. Those with a keen eye could discern that the design draws inspiration from the iconic LEGO figurine, with the classic hand and head forming part of the pattern.
“The reaction to this has been incredible – we love seeing that so many Australians are passionate about space. We even started teasing out some content of the crop circle a few weeks ago and it sparked some online debate on what was happening out in rural NSW,” Taylor told EducationDaily. “What more could you ask for?”
Australian astrophysicist and content creator Kobi Brown (@AstroKobi), who says he was “always into space as a kid”, played a pivotal role in bringing the crop circle to life.
“It was a pretty surreal experience. Coming in, I didn’t know what to expect so I got to discover the crop circle like it was real – walking through waist high sorghum fields and passing hazmat suit-wearing ‘investigators’ to stand in this pretty epic set of concentric circles and geometric designs,” he says, adding that it was great to “inspire the space generation” to engage with the wider universe and its wonders.

“Crop circles are often associated with extraterrestrial activity in popular culture and play into the mysteries surrounding space, and beyond.”
Inspiring the Space Generation
By the end of the decade, NASA’s Artemis program aims to return people to the Moon, as part of a bigger ambition to put humans on Mars. The first humans to experience that new frontier will be Generation Alpha – kids born between 2010-2025. The future explorers, dubbed by LEGO Australia as The Space Generation, will take humankind further into the universe than we have ever been, since making that first giant leap in 1969.
The research reveals Australian parents share this aspiration, with 75 per cent of them agreeing that The Space Generation are more likely to travel into space than previous generations.
Building space exploration dreams, brick by brick
Bennell-Pegg believes that “unlocking creativity” gives Aussie kids the opportunity to pursue their passion and prepare them for the future. Scientists at the European Space Agency (ESA), where Bennell-Pegg trained, have turned to their love of toy construction brick-building when designing launch pads and shelters for astronauts visiting the moon.

As part of the Artemis program, the ESA used dust from a 4.5-billion-year-old meteorite to 3D print bricks – similar to a LEGO brick – to help design astronaut shelters in space.
Taylor told EducationDaily having the connection to ‘serious’ education angles through a collaboration with the Australian Space Agency is important because “space is the ultimate playground for creativity and is already such an important passion point for kids aged six-12”.
“At the current rate of space exploration, it looks like Generation Alpha will be the first generation to live, work and play on another planet.”