Bricks for the Blind

Bricks for the Blind Bricks for the Blind (BFTB) is a non-profit organization that brings the joy of building LEGO® sets to blind people for free.

BrickWorld Chicago was a big one for BFTB.Our very own Matthew Shifrin just returned from the convention, where he led 3...
06/24/2026

BrickWorld Chicago was a big one for BFTB.

Our very own Matthew Shifrin just returned from the convention, where he led 3 workshops for 100 builders total and introduced more people to the power of accessible LEGO building. Even better, many attendees left interested in becoming BFTB instruction writers.

One of the highlights? Meeting Shannon Holmes, one of our incredible writers, in person for the first time.

Huge thanks to everyone who joined a workshop, asked questions, built with us, and helped spread the word about making LEGO more accessible for blind builders. More to come.

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Photo 1 description: Two attendees pose together in front of a Bricks for the Blind banner at an indoor event. Both are smiling toward the camera. The person on the left wears colorful teal glasses, a pink floral dress, event badges, and uses a decorated forearm crutch. The person on the right wears sunglasses, a baseball cap, event credentials, and holds a white cane. A duffel bag sits on the floor between them.

Photo 2 description: Several attendees sit at tables during a Bricks for the Blind workshop or conference session. Many participants are wearing blindfolds made from folded face masks while taking part in a hands-on activity. In the foreground, two attendees sit side by side at a table with small building pieces and bowls in front of them. Other participants are seated behind them, also blindfolded and focused on the activity. Conference lanyards are visible throughout the room, highlighting an interactive exercise designed to simulate building without sight.

Photo 3 description: Several attendees participate in a hands-on Bricks for the Blind activity at a conference workshop. Seated at tables, the participants wear blindfolds made from folded face masks while using touch to identify and assemble small building pieces. Bowls of parts, instruction materials, and conference lanyards are visible throughout the room. The image captures participants experiencing a building challenge without sight as part of an interactive accessibility exercise.

Photo 4 description: Two attendees participate in a Bricks for the Blind hands-on activity while wearing blindfolds made from folded face masks. Seated side by side at a table, they use touch to sort and identify small building pieces from paper bowls in front of them. Conference lanyards, building parts, and instruction materials are visible on the table. The image captures participants experiencing a building challenge without sight as part of an interactive accessibility workshop.

Photo 5 description: Matthew at the front of a conference room speaking to a group of attendees. The presenter wears sunglasses, a backpack, and conference credentials. Seated participants wear blindfolds made from folded face masks as part of an interactive Bricks for the Blind workshop. Rows of tables and attendees are visible throughout the room, capturing a hands-on accessibility exercise designed to help participants experience building and navigation without sight.

New York City, we're headed your way in just one month!Join Bricks for the Blind and the New York Public Library on Satu...
06/18/2026

New York City, we're headed your way in just one month!

Join Bricks for the Blind and the New York Public Library on Saturday, July 18 at the Andrew Heiskell Braille and Talking Book Library for a hands-on LEGO building workshop bringing together blind, low-vision, and sighted builders.

Led by BFTB Founder Matthew Shifrin, participants will build the LEGO City Go-Karts and Race Drivers set using our text-based instructions.

Space is limited and registration is required.

Register today and secure your spot:
https://brnw.ch/21x3sN2

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Image description: A promotional flyer for Bricks for the Blind’s NYC Live LEGO Building Workshop. The graphic features event details alongside photos of a colorful LEGO build, workshop participants gathered together, and Bricks for the Blind founder Matthew Shifrin speaking at an event. The workshop will take place at the Andrew Heiskell Braille and Talking Book Library in New York City on Saturday, July 18, 2026, from 2–4 p.m. The flyer highlights an inclusive, hands-on LEGO building experience designed for blind and visually impaired participants.

06/11/2026

As the FIFA World Cup 2026 kicks off today, our blind tester Peter is hard at work building the LEGO FIFA World Cup Official Trophy using our text-based instructions.

With 2,842 pieces to tackle, Peter isn't quite at the finish line yet but every step of the process helps us ensure the instructions are accurate, accessible, and ready for builders who are blind or have low vision.

Once testing is complete, the full instructions will be available as a free download on our website, making it possible for more LEGO fans to independently build this iconic trophy and experience the excitement of the world's biggest soccer tournament.

Good luck, Peter! We're cheering you on all the way to the final brick.
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Video description: Vertical video showing a LEGO FIFA World Cup Trophy build in progress. The video begins with the completed LEGO set displayed on the product box, then cuts to close-up views of individual sections being assembled. A small LEGO figure is shown attached to a decorative panel before the camera moves to the trophy base on a tabletop workspace. Building tools, a Braille display, printed instructions, and LEGO storage trays are visible in the background. Hands hold and rotate color-coded LEGO pieces to demonstrate the next construction steps. The video ends with the partially completed trophy base standing upright and on-screen text reading, “To be continued...” against a soccer-themed background.

Our very own Matthew Shifrin was honored to have been a guest on Through Our Eyes, the official podcast of the Pediatric...
06/03/2026

Our very own Matthew Shifrin was honored to have been a guest on Through Our Eyes, the official podcast of the Pediatric Retinal Research Foundation (PRRF).

The episode explores how blind and visually impaired people of all ages can benefit from building Lego sets independently and we hope this will resonate with families, educators, and professionals in this space.

PRRF's work to fund critical research and support families affected by pediatric retinal diseases is truly meaningful, and we’re grateful to contribute to that mission in this way.

Tune in here: https://brnw.ch/21x349V

05/28/2026

On the latest episode of GBH’s The Culture Show, our CEO Matthew Shifrin sits down with GBH Arts Editor Jared Bowen to explore how adaptive sports are opening new possibilities for blind athletes.

From tennis and cricket to rock climbing, the conversation highlights how thoughtful adaptations can make sports more accessible, competitive, and inclusive.

Listen to the full episode here: https://brnw.ch/21x2UeK

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Video Description: Set against a purple-tinted podcast studio background with two microphones, the center of the screen features The Culture Show logo. The logo includes the show’s title, the GBH News logo, and an illustration of hosts Jared Bowen, Callie Crossley, and Edgar B. Herwick III smiling together over a vibrant orange and yellow backdrop. A white animated soundwave moves across the logo as the audio plays. White text above the logo reads, “Matthew Shifrin talks about experiences for blind athletes”. Below the logo, the words “The Culture Show Podcast” are enclosed in a white oval, followed by the text “Hosted by Jared Bowen” at the very bottom.

05/26/2026

What does a massive LEGO roller coaster feel like when you experience it through touch?

Matthew Shifrin stopped by Bricks & Minifigs in Newton and got rare behind-the-counter access to explore some of LEGO’s most intricate builds — from a working carousel to the Colosseum and towering roller coaster sets.

Using his Meta glasses, Matthew recorded the visit from his perspective, giving us a firsthand look at how he experiences LEGO as a blind builder: through texture, scale, movement, and detail.
This is the kind of access and creativity that makes play more meaningful for everyone.

Special thanks to Bricks & Minifigs Newton for welcoming us in!

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Video description: A vertical video inside Bricks & Minifigs shows shelves filled with LEGO sets, minifigures, and large displays. Background music plays as the camera moves through the store, featuring a moving LEGO roller coaster, spinning carousel, and detailed LEGO Colosseum. On-screen captions share reflections about LEGO building and accessibility. The video ends with wider views of the store and text thanking Ken for the visit.

05/20/2026

This World Bee Day, we’re celebrating creativity, curiosity, and the pollinators that help our world bloom.

With downloadable text-based instructions available for the LEGO Friends Beekeepers’ House & Flower Garden set, more kids can experience the accessible joy of building independently.

Download the instructions today: https://brnw.ch/21x2F34

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Video description:
A short, close-up video shows hands assembling and adjusting a colorful LEGO garden and cottage scene. The miniature build features a lavender house with a dark blue roof, flower boxes, a small front porch, and surrounding greenery. Decorative details include blooming flowers, leafy trees, birdhouses, and small LEGO figures placed throughout the scene.
Throughout the video, hands carefully move and position pieces, highlighting different parts of the set from multiple angles. The camera slowly pans and zooms in on details such as flowers, pathways, and garden elements, creating a soft, playful atmosphere. Toward the end, a young person is briefly visible behind the LEGO display, looking down at the completed build. The overall tone is bright, creative, and spring-like, celebrating nature and hands-on building.

05/15/2026

For Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD), we’re celebrating what can happen when accessibility and inclusion are built into learning experiences from the start.

After discovering our accessible FIRST LEGO League instructions, LAUNCH TEAM Robotics connected with Matthew to learn how they could better introduce blind and visually impaired students to LEGO robotics. What followed? Sets were sent to schools for the blind across states, including South Carolina School for the Deaf and the Blind, giving students the chance to build, code, problem-solve, and explore STEM in a way that was accessible to them.

As Matthew shared with the team, accessibility is about creating pathways in, not barriers to overcome. Starting with accessible LEGO building experiences can open the door to robotics, coding, and confidence-building opportunities that many blind students may have never had access to before.

This is why accessible design matters. And this is why we do what we do.

Happy GAAD!

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Video description: Close-up of a robotics activity table with LEGO-built robots and obstacle structures arranged on a colorful game mat. In the foreground, a person’s hands guide a white and gray LEGO robot near the edge of the table. Other LEGO creations and participants are visible in the background, suggesting a hands-on STEM or robotics competition setting.

For Natalie, building with LEGO bricks is something she shares with her kids—not just something she brings to others as ...
05/10/2026

For Natalie, building with LEGO bricks is something she shares with her kids—not just something she brings to others as a blind tester with Bricks For The Blind.

Through the National Federation of the Blind and BFTB, she’s helped bring accessible building into events and conventions but the impact shows up most clearly at home.

Her oldest son is now part of it in his own way by sorting bricks, building sets, and showing up at events with his BFTB hat and full enthusiasm.

This Mother’s Day, we’re highlighting what BFTB helps make possible: mothers being able to fully share the LEGO experience with their kids, not as observers, but as co-builders.

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Photo description: A young child in a red shirt plays with a small LEGO-style dump truck on a dark wooden table while an adult steadies the toy with one hand. Other toy vehicles and figures are scattered around the table, including a white and blue toy car nearby and a small black superhero figure in the background. The child appears focused and engaged in imaginative play.

Parents and teachers were stopping at the BFTB table at Perkins School for the Blind’s Early Connections Conference and ...
05/07/2026

Parents and teachers were stopping at the BFTB table at Perkins School for the Blind’s Early Connections Conference and the reactions said it all: “I’ve never seen anything like this.”

Bricks For The Blind founder, Matthew Shifrin, joined the workshop day on campus, where families, educators, and professionals came together to share strategies and talk through what real support looks like for young children who are blind, low vision, or deafblind.

He demonstrated and instructed accessible LEGO building in action, talking with attendees as they tried it for themselves. What started as curiosity quickly turned into real excitement, with people imagining how this could show up at home and in classrooms.

Thanks for having us, Perkins School for the Blind!

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Photo 1 description: Matthew and one attendee participate in a hands-on LEGO activity at a table, with one person selecting pieces from bowls while another assembles a model across from them. A sign on the table reads “Build a Model With Us,” and the setting appears to be a public indoor space with display cases in the background.

Photo 2 description: Matthew stands beside a seated woman wearing a face mask as they participate in a hands-on activity with small building pieces at a conference table.

Photo 3 description: Matthew standing and smiling, wearing sunglasses and holding a white cane stands in a conference room in front of a screen displaying the event schedule. He wears a blazer, conference badge, and white BFTB polo shirt.

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