LEGO RESEARCH INSTITUTE, Building Instructions, Page: 2 / 51

As a geoscientist and an Adult Fan of LEGO ® , it was
natural that Alatariel (Ellen Kooijman) was inspired
to combine her two passions to create a LEGO set
depicting women in science.
“I was surfi ng the Web one day and stumbled upon
LEGO Cuusoo. I was immediately enthusiastic about the
concept and saw it as a great opportunity to increase
the overall number of female LEGO fi gures and to make
them more interesting as characters.”
“As a geoscientist, I started with designs close to my own
profession and then expanded them to include others
such as a robotics engineer and a falconer. It was clear
from the large number of comments I received that the
science-based fi gures were most popular, which is why
the fi nal set ended up containing a paleontologist, an
astronomer and a chemist.”
“The motto of these three scientists is clear: explore
the world and beyond! The astronomer discovers new
stars and planets with her telescope, the paleontologist
studies the origin of the dinosaurs, and the chemist does
experiments in the laboratory. I hope that they show that
girls can become anything they want.”
“I think the three vignettes also present an interesting
LEGO building experience. Each one comes with a 6x6
base plate and a corresponding setting to stimulate
creativity. The set also includes lots of accessories, such
as bottles, tools, bones, etc. The dinosaur skeleton
especially turned out to be a real winner! It has become
hugely popular with a variety of people ranging from
teenage boys to fellow adult LEGO fans.”
Research Institute
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