CMU has announced its partnership with a UK social enterprise, Play Included®, to officially launch the Brick-by-Brick® program, an internationally-acclaimed LEGO® brick based therapy, in the United States. The partnership will enable CMU to train education professionals to deliver the program in their own schools and out-of-school community settings to support children’s development and personal wellbeing. 

The university’s pioneering Center for Transformational Play, which focuses on the research and development of transformational games, is the first training partner of Play Included® in the USA and will deliver its first ever training sessions to educators in Pittsburgh. Creation of the CMU training hub is being supported by the Leonard Gelfand Center for Service Learning and Outreach, which works with staff, students, and faculty at CMU and within the community to improve educational outcomes for K-12 students through educator professional development. 

Project Baseplate is supported by funding from the Richard King Mellon Foundation, the Benedum Foundation, The Grable Foundation, and David L. and Noelle C. Conover of Matt's Maker Space.