Stephan Turnipseed and Leland Melvin chock full of LEGO bricks on the NASA Causeway at Kennedy Space Center.

Stephan Turnipseed, president of LEGO Education North America, left, and Leland Melvin, NASA's associate administrator for Education, discuss the new partnership between the U.S. space agency and the toy company inside a 40- by 70-foot activity tent chock full of LEGO bricks on the NASA Causeway at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. There, children of all ages are building their vision of the future with LEGO bricks, marking the beginning of a three-year Space Act Agreement meant to spark the interest of children in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).

To commemorate the partnership, two small LEGO space shuttles will launch aboard space shuttle Discovery's STS-133 mission to the International Space Station and the company will release four NASA-inspired products in its LEGO CITY line next year. LEGO sets also will fly to the space station aboard Endeavour's STS-134 mission, and will be put together on orbit to demonstrate the challenges faced while building things in microgravity. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller