LEGO company has been around since the 1930s

The LEGO Group is based in Billund, Denmark, where it began. The modern LEGO company was founded in 1932 by the Kirk Kristiansen family. The business originally manufactured stepladders, ironing boards, stools and wooden toys. The company name comes from the Danish words "leg godt," meaning "play well." Later, the company realized that the word in Latin means "I put together."

In 1947, LEGO bought a plastic injection-molding machine for toy production. Among 200 other plastic toys, LEGO began building Automatic Binding Bricks, the forerunner of modern-day LEGOs. The LEGO System of Play was launched in 1955, and the first export of LEGO bricks was to nearby Sweden. It was not successful.

In 1960, the wooden toy warehouse was destroyed by fire, and wooden toys were discontinued entirely by the company. The next year, LEGO sets were first sold in the United States and Canada, licensed to Samsonite Corp.

Today, the LEGO Group is the world's fifth-largest toy manufacturer. According to the company, more than seven LEGO sets are sold every second.

Details: www.LEGO.com

Famous buildings

LEGO makes it possible to own some of the world's great architecture without that messy upkeep and mortgage nonsense.

The company's Architecture series offers models of nine landmark buildings in build-it-yourself kits.

Fans of Frank Lloyd Wright can indulge themselves with a model of Fallingwater (811 pieces, $99.99), which maintains many of its architectural features while reducing the house over the waterfall to a 10-inch width.

Other models offered include Dubai's signature 2,716.5-foot-tall Burj Khalifa skyscraper (208 pieces, $24.99) miniaturized to a 16-inch height, the White House (550 pieces, $49.99) and the Empire State Building (77 pieces, $19.99).

Coming in July is Mies van der Rohe's minimalist glass and concrete Farnsworth House (546 pieces, $59.99).

Each kit comes with a booklet offering information on the architect and the history and construction of the building. Depending on their complexity, the models are designed for children 10 or older plus their adult counterparts.

On to space

Those who live in households with LEGO lovers find the versatile blocks everywhere -- in the shag rug, in the laundry and even in the flower beds.

Now, through a partnership between NASA and the LEGO Group, they've turned up in outer space.

In May, the space shuttle Endeavor took LEGO kits on its final trip as part of LEGO's Bricks in Space program.

The astronauts were filmed using the kits to build models as a way to show kids the effect of microgravity on how simple machines work. To save time, the models astronauts constructed were partially assembled on Earth.

It's part of a joint outreach and educational program to inspire children to explore science, technology, engineering and math. The in-class portion of the LEGO Bricks in Space project will be available to educators starting in September.

Astronauts also were supplied with clear plastic boxes that allowed them to complete the project without having the blocks float about the spacecraft -- a convenience some Earth-bound parents might wish for.

Details: www.LEGOspace.com

Movie stars

From ambitious re-creations of "Star Wars" movies to animations of Eddie Izzard monologues, LEGOs are stars on YouTube.

There also are looks at large LEGO projects, but the winners of the LEGO Academy Awards -- if they existed -- would be the film takeoffs.

"The Fastest and Funniest LEGOs Star Wars Film Ever Told," for instance, features a child's voice telling the basic story of the original "Star Wars" film over a LEGOs-constructed production with Han Solo space ships, a Death Star, and places such as Tatooine.

And it does all of that in a little more than two minutes with an electronic takeoff on John Williams' music.

But you can't stop there, because "Star Wars" LEGO films don't. Izzard does a piece about Darth Vader going to the cafeteria in the Death Star and having a hard time convincing the lunch worker he is more important than the head of catering. The LEGO characters seem perfectly suitable for Izzard's rambling style.

There are plenty of LEGO Goes to the Movies failures, though. "LEGO Detective," "LEGO Mission: Impossible"and "LEGO Secret Agent" don't quite make it.

But "LEGO Black Ops," a violent, even bloody, shoot-'em-up has the feel of an action film that focuses on the fighting and forgets about the plot.

But with LEGOs, did you want acting?

Going virtual

LEGOs have gone virtual with several choices of video games including "Pirates of the Caribbean," "Harry Potter," "Star Wars," "Indiana Jones" and "Batman."

"The Pirates of the Caribbean" game brings Jack Sparrow and other familiar characters to life and incorporates storylines, locations and characters from all four films, including the most recent. In LEGO Harry Potter, explore Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, learn spells, brew potions and relive the adventures of the book and film series.

There's also a choice where you can play Batman and his sidekick, Robin, as you build, drive, swing and fight your way through Gotham City capturing escaped villains including the Joker, Penguin and Scarecrow. Then, jump into the story from the other side and play as Batman's foes.

Where to get them

LEGOs, of course, are available at most toys stores.

But if you want the full LEGO shopping experience, you can visit one of more than 50 LEGO stores in the United States. There also are stores in Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany and, of course, Denmark.

The closest shop to Pittsburgh is in Columbus. But those who have visited Disney World in Orlando probably have taken a spin through the LEGO store in the Downtown Disney Marketplace. A new bigger, remodeled store opened in April.

And an amusement park, too

Clearly, there's no limit to what you can create with LEGO bricks.

Witness LEGOLAND California, a 128-acre family theme park in Carlsbad, 30 miles north of San Diego.

The park offers more than 50 family rides and hands-on attractions, restaurants, shops and shows geared toward youngsters ages 2 to 12.

Much of what you enjoy here was constructed from actual LEGO bricks or gigantic facsimiles.

Scattered throughout the park are more than 15,000 LEGO models created from more than 35 million LEGO bricks. They range from a Brontosaurus named Bronte (made of more than 2 million LEGO bricks) to a tiny rabbit in a magician's hat in Miniland Las Vegas made of just four bricks.

At the moment, there are three other LEGOLAND parks you can visit: LEGOLAND Billund in Denmark, LEGOLAND Windsor outside of London and LEGOLAND Deutschland in Germany.

In October, they will be joined by LEGOLAND Florida in Winter Haven, Fla.

Details: www.california.legoland.com

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