Death is an awkward topic, one most of us try to avoid talking and thinking about at all costs, although we're all sure to be confronted by it at least a few times in our lives. That lack of communication, preparedness, and acceptance can make the grieving process even more difficult than it already is, while we stumble about in great confusion about what to do and how to feel.
Kids, sometimes unable to grasp the concept of death, can be even more affected by the process of losing a loved one. Nevertheless, their curious and non-judgmental minds, unaffected by the stigma that we as a society have built around the issue, allow things like death, funerals, grief, cremation and such to be discussed honestly and openly, and so prepare them better for such events later in life.
Bestattungsmuseum, the Funeral Museum in Vienna’s central cemetery, decided to help their younger visitors to better understand challenging issues by introducing LEGO kits based on somber funeral scenes.
The cemetery, one of the largest on Earth with more than 330,000 tombs and graves spread over 590 acres, homes the graves of several famous names such as Beethoven and Strauss. Nevertheless, despite their quiet reverence for the dead in their beautiful surroundings, they're also very focused on the well-being of the living, too.
News about these (slightly morbid) LEGO sets have gained attention all over the world, which Dr. Keusch has described as overwhelmingly positive.
There are three new sets available, with prices varying from 50 to 90 euros. You can select from a full cemetery with tombs, tombstones, excavators and cemetery personnel; there's also a crematorium in which a casket can be inserted.
If you are more interested in role-playing the process you can find a funeral parade and a grieving family, which includes a father, mother, child, a deceased person and also a decomposed skeleton.
Here is what people had to say about the LEGO sets:
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