Behind the Creation of the “World of Astraea”

Dennis Gonzalez & Tatiana Santiago

JANUARY 19, 2025

“World of Astraea,” the finalized LEGO build of Temple Hill’s LEGO team.

Photo by JV Luna.

Temple Hill International School participated in the LEGOLAND School Challenge 2024, an international competition with 554 submissions and 3,700 student participants. Having occurred from June 4 to August 5, the event took place over the summer break, requiring the students to go to school frequently to work on it. 

CONCEPTUALIZATION

The team's first task was brainstorming what their LEGO creation would look like. With the given theme of ‘Fantasy’, there were many possibilities for the piece's direction. Team member Annika Cordero, a grade 8 student, remarked that initially, the difficult part was coming up with the main idea, as they had gone through multiple changes and revisions of the concept and the story behind it before finally choosing one. 

In the end, however, the team finally settled on building the meeting between two deities as humans go about their daily lives. 

Temple Hill LEGO team members drawing out concepts for their build.

Photo by Dean Tawatao.

DIFFICULTIES

The team’s difficulties hardly stopped once they had decided on the concept. They lacked LEGO blocks of specific colors, some of which they needed for the large and prevalent structures of the build. As a result, the team had to go shopping to find the missing parts. Even then, they barely managed to make do, using the pieces they had from school, their Legos, and the ones they bought. 

Additionally, the team was hindered by one of the requirements of the competition: the incorporation of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) elements. Although initially stumped, they eventually decided to incorporate motors used in their Robotics class into the build, allowing parts of the LEGO creation to spin. 

PROGRESSION

Regardless, the team pushed forward.

JV Luna, the robotics teacher in Temple Hill and one of the team’s teacher advisors, stated, “They functioned as a team every time they [would] build together, so they’re setting up meetings all on their own, and consulting with the teacher, so if there was something to change, they were able to change it, and if there was something to fix, they were able to fix it.”

Going to school nearly every day in the weeks leading up to the final submission date, the team worked hard and made the deadline with time to spare, completing both the build and its photoshoot. 

LEGO team sorting pieces and beginning the base of the build.

Photo by Dean Tawatao.

RESULTS AND REFLECTIONS

The LEGO build, titled “The World of Astraea,” made it to the top 20 in the competition. While they didn’t win, Gia Rocero, a grade 10 student, expressed that she had enjoyed the experience. Annika stated that she had learned more about organization and planning and would like to join the competition again if she had the chance. 

Dean Tawatao, a math teacher in Temple Hill’s high school department and the team’s other teacher advisor, encouraged students to think creatively with the limited options they had, just as the LEGO team did, and to try new things because they may never know what they are capable of.