lego man spacePerhaps you, like me, have a son. Perhaps your son, like mine, is what you might call a little bit obsessed with Legos. Perhaps you, like me, try not to think about how the combined cash value of the assembled Star Wars/Ninjago/Harry Potter Lego sets, which have somehow replaced all the furniture in your living room, could probably put your son through at least one year of college.

Sound familiar? Well, do I ever have a story for you! A story that proves Legos really do encourage devotees to use their imaginations and build fine motor skills and so on and so forth.

At least when they're in the hands of kids like Matthew Ho and Assam Muhammed of Toronto, who recently sent a Lego man on a most impressive journey ...

Into space! No joke. What's more, the daring Lego astronaut even brought back video of his amazing adventure. (The footage is spectacular. Grand and humbling and poignant and inspiring and just way more moving than you'd ever expect video of a Lego guy in space to be.)

Always "fascinated" by space and aviation, Ho and Muhammed spent several months designing a capsule that would carry the Lego man, four inexpensive cameras, and a GPS-equipped cellphone into space (by way of a hand-sewn, helium-filled weather balloon).

Pretty impressive for a couple of teens. And, beyond presenting a persuasive argument for Legos as an educational toy, their project is a testament to the power of play in general. Great things happen when kids are given the freedom to follow their dreams.

Just watch:

Do you have a Lego-obsessed kid?


Image via mathewmho/YouTube