New Education set shows how the Panama Canal locks work
Posted by Huw,
LEGO is producing a set to commemorate the widening of the Panama Canal. The 1184-piece model shows how the locks allow ships to traverse the height difference between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans as they travel through the canal.
It will be available only in the country so is likely to be somewhat tricky to source, particularly as it appears that only 40,000 are being produced.
There is more information, pictures and videos on Facebook, and here is a news article from a local website about it, poorly translated to English by Google:
"Building facilities in the Panama Canal Administration will be released the first set of commemorative pieces of Lego Panama, celebrating the expansion of the Canal.
The activity will take place in the Centennial hall on Tuesday November 15 from 3:30 pm
This is the third set of locks in Lego Education.
This exclusive and limited edition for Panama will have 40 thousand units, and is the first Lego Education makes a set a world wonder.
The initial idea was proposed by Lorena Degracia, founder of Panama STEM Education, the administrator of the Panama Canal Authority (ACP) , Jorge Quijano.
The idea was enthusiastically welcomed by the ACP and Lego Education in Denmark, who started the creative design and prototyping process.
The set carries in his box the official logos of the Panama Canal and the third set of locks, and consists of 1184 pieces.
"Most people sure will buy will be adults to have it as a collection, but what we want is to make him understand and give the option to the Ministry of Education to explain in an interactive way how the operation of water levels, explain and both teach what happens on every ship passing through Panama, how it does, etc. This set is completely educational, "said Degracia.
Lego Group is composed of three parts: commercial Lego, which are found in toy stores; Lego Foundation, which is a center of creativity, games and lessons; and Lego Education, which is the approach to education, science and robotics.
The set of the third set of locks Lego Education is available to the public from the first week of December 2016, with a price that will be around $ 250.
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24 comments on this article
"consists of 184 thousand pieces."
Wow! That's huge! ...or a typo that should have been 1.84 thousand...or 1,840.
1184 according to the box!
Why are education sets always rather expensive?
Because they are more than bricks - they have hours of science poured into these sets and detailed instructions. ALso they are ment to be bought just once.
do lego publish the instructions to these sets as well?
What a cool set! I wish the quantities weren't so limited.
And to think Panama is basically next door to me.
Love it!
I'd be curious how many schools in Panama would be actually able to afford this, unless it's given out to them and the crazy price is only aimed at "general public" (read: collectors, who are expected to finance this project).
Otherwise the price is so silly, I'd dare call it a scam.
The Brickset notes state 'Production run said to be just 40,000.'.
'Just' 40000!? That's more than the world-wide available Limited Edition Technic set 41999 which was limited at only 20000 :P
That's actually kind of awesome. Too bad about the ludicrous price, though...
I agree the price of these educational sets is ridiculous, but the good thing is, this set seems to use pretty easy to source parts, so BL'ing it should be fairly easy and inexpensive. That is of course assuming we get the parts list somehow.
Would love to have this, but that price, haha! From the main picture, there appears to only be one set-exclusive piece, and that's a sticker. I have a feeling this could be pieced together for around $100USD. Just wouldn't have the box and instructions. Wait, what makes the set official? Does it have to be built directly from the box?
Nice looking set, but it misses the way the water flows from one chamber to the next - critical in the dry season. I can't think of a solution at the moment, but I'm sure it would be possible, using cunningly interlinked rack-and-pinion systems.
If you guys need a better translation of the article, I can do it, but I think the needed info was correctly provided by Google. :)
The title of the set "El Canal de Panama" makes me think it might be limited to distribution in Latin America. Which if that is the case, that is actually rather cool. Latin America is still a new market for Lego on the most part; where they have to compete against Chinese bootleg sets and homebrewed pirated DVD's of their own "Lego Movie" and PS2 games such as "Lego: Star Wars." There is definitely a demand for Lego in South America, but the lack of available products and the proliferation of counterfeits means Lego is still new to the market.
(Technically the Panama Canal is in Central America not South America, I just say South America since that is the area I am more familiar with.)
Wow, that price! I was hoping it might have been in a different currency so that it wouldn't hurt so bad in US.
Still, this looks like it would be a lot of fun to take into my son's Kindergarten class.
I need this in my life!
Very cool set, I hope building instructions become available.
I'd love to get my hands on this set, fun and educational! The price is unfortunate however, and I've never understood why the education sets are so much more for price/piece. I wonder if the water level raises and lowers in the model, as it should.
Finally one of many things that represent my country! The Panama Canal!
I'd go all out to get this set. Those micro ships are fantastic. Transiting the Panama Canal in a ship is on my bucket list.
@FlagsNZ--I think going through the Panama Canal is on my bucket list as well, and this set of locks is excellent. I do hope the instructions become available! It's a set I'd love to Bricklink, but I don't think I could reverse engineer it just from the pictures.
@xboxtravis7992 Well the general public in South and Central America can't afford this is set. it is not really ment as a set to boost direct sales from the general public. It is more a set ment to make children and Teenager aware of what Lego can do. Hopefully this set will be given to many schools in Panama/Central America since few schools can afford this set.