News

Here is the perfect Christmas gift for that young student. Lego has created a special limited edition kit of the expanded Panama Canal.

The 1,184-piece set allows kids to build a working model of the Canal with four levels, sliding gates that simulate the locks and even tiny models of freighters. Only 40,000 sets are being manufactured and they will only be available in Panama.

The kit is the brainchild of Panama STEM, a training center for children focusing on science, engineering and mathematics. Founder Lorena Degracia proposed the idea to Canal administrator Jorge Quijano, La Estrella reports.

“The idea was to create an educational set to bring all the children of Panama and the world the wonder that is the Panama Canal,” Degracia told reporters.

Beyond good fun for Lego fanatics, the set is designed as an educational tool, giving teachers and parents a way to explain the mechanics of the Canal to children.

“This project was welcomed, I loved it,” Quijano said at a press conference,

Quijano said he was in Denmark for a maritime forum and decided to visit the Lego headquarters in Denmark.

“When I got there, my surprise was that they already had a prototype, which is now on my desk,” Quijano told reporters.

The set won’t come cheap—it’s priced at $250 and will likely command more online, once hardcore Lego fans start tracking down sets, gadget site Gizmodo notes. In Panama, the sets will be available at Steven’s stores, Pricemart and Panama STEM’s offices.