LEGO Ideas 21355 The Evolution of STEM review
LEGO Ideas 21355 The Evolution of STEM perfectly encapsulates the many advances of humankind in a surprisingly interesting LEGO build.
‘Celebrating the evolution of STEM – Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (with an s)’, LEGO Ideas 21355 The Evolution of STEM packs into 879 pieces an appropriately engaging and varied LEGO build that will hold your attention and remind you of exactly how far-reaching STEM is.
Release: March 1, 2025 Price: £69.99 / $79.99 / €79.99 Pieces: 879 Minifigures: 3 LEGO: Order now
Knowledge is Power
The result of a 2023 collaborative contest between Ideas and Target called ‘Celebrate the wonder of STEM’, UK-based Daniel Bradley’s submission ‘Knowledge is Power’ won both the popular and jury vote for selection, bringing together representation of a host of advances made through the centuries in the studies of the four areas of STEM.
As a build concept, Daniel’s original submission and what it has evolved into as an official Ideas project – 21355 The Evolution of STEM – is ambitious not only for how much it looks to work into the single, relatively small space, but how it does so in a way that accentuates every detail without anything getting lost.
The official version has brought forward a lot of Daniel’s original ideas whilst introducing a few more that pay specific homage to three famous scientists credited with advancing our understanding in their respective fields – chemist and two-time Nobel Prize winner Marie Curie, agricultural scientist George Washington Carver, and Sir Isaac Newton, who brought forward our understanding of laws of motion and universal gravitation.
The official set now includes an apple tree for Sir Isaac to sit beneath, a science laboratory for Marie Curie to discover radium and radioactive materials, and for George Washington Carver to study the development of hundreds of applications for plants, alongside a small area of crops.
Alongside these builds are a whole plethora of items that signify key advancements in STEM, from one of the first cars, to the home computer, to a model of a DNA strand, and from a microscale city to the bumblebee, space shuttle, NASA Voyager 1 probe and a model of the element Carbon (little notes in the instruction book add context to what each of these models mean, though it is a shame there isn’t immediate access to greater understanding for those not necessarily aware of the significance of each item). All the models are situated on a book to represent the notion of study that all together makes for a clever concept that fan designer Daniel conceived and that the LEGO Ideas team have been able to fully realise.
21355 The Evolution of STEM makes for such a varied and engaging set – one that is far more interesting than anyone cynically-minded may be expecting heading into a science-based LEGO set. This is educational, but eye-opening too.
Theory into practice
21355 The Evolution of STEM is also a bonkers idea of a LEGO set. In almost any other context this sort of amalgamation of different objects would not work. Placing a tree next to an early 1900s car next to a 3D model of Carbon, in front of a DNA strand, next to a collection of plants in front of a microscale city, with a research lab in front of it all… oh yes, and a giant bee, space shuttle and satellite floating about up top. 21355 The Evolution of STEM is barmy for exactly how much is worked into the model and, as it happens, in such a way that actually works. Indeed, this is a LEGO set that is perhaps one of the best modern examples of how the right composition can make all the difference.
Between the distribution in size of each item and the careful use of colour, 21355 The Evolution of STEM is as balanced, interesting and clear to both build and take in as a final model as any more typical LEGO set would be, thanks to excellent and careful design. Each item is afforded its own space to breathe and work, but is also placed in a way to give balance to the whole piece.
The tree on the left is matched by the city on the right – branches mimicked by a flying plane. The car and the crop garden work as opposites, whilst the lab that stretches across the front is cleverly home to more than one scientific experiment or advancement. Meanwhile, the models of the Carbon element and DNA strand are colourful and bold and appropriately take centre stage, looming out of the middle of the book, with the latter also allowing for the bee, shuttle and NASA Voyager 1 probe to smartly attach as if floating around the model. There is a lot of importance to every item included in 21355 The Evolution of STEM, and so it is apt that each gets a position of prominence and visual interest.
it’s interesting to come together as you build each representation of scientific advancement, and it’s interesting to take in as a final model, all in a way that really does celebrate the subject matter at hand. It’s a smart idea, an ambitious one too, but nicely realised in LEGO form to come together as well as it does here.
Discovery after discovery
The end result isn’t necessarily the most hands-on, perhaps working best as a display piece with a few detachable parts – plus placement and interaction of the three minifigures – but there is one nifty thing to purposefully play with that certainly does add an extra level of life to the finished model.
That is a bit at the back that you turn that rotates the DNA strand and moves the Carbon element up and down. It’s a small thing but adds a final layer of interactivity to the model that is very welcome and quite fun.
In all, LEGO Ideas 21355 The Evolution of STEM is exactly what it intends to be – a celebration of the wonder of STEM. Each small build is nicely detailed and easily recognisable and as a complete model they all come together so effectively thanks to clever design and composition. From original fan concept through to final polished LEGO set, 21355 The Evolution of STEM is an excellent representation of the four cornerstones of modern day study.
This set was provided for review by the LEGO Group.
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Our honest opinion: This could have been boring, but instead it’s an original idea excellently composed and realised into an official set. Something that highlights the greatness of Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths is also the epitome of LEGO Ideas.
