When MakeInspires LEGO Robotics Meets Corporate Team Building at LinkedIn

MakeInspires Team Building at LinkedIn

Last week, the MakeInspires team had the opportunity to bring one of our favorite hands-on challenges into a completely new environment: LinkedIn’s Hack Week in NYC, hosted inside the Empire State Building.

Instead of laptops and whiteboards, teams gathered around LEGO robotics kits, tasked with designing, building, and programming a working catapult. The goal was simple: collaborate, iterate, and see whose creation could launch the farthest and most accurately.

I, Travis Sluss, had the pleasure of joining six teammates for this event, and we all had a great time. It was energizing to step out of our usual roles and experience the challenge from the participant side — especially in such an iconic setting.

What unfolded was exactly what we love to see.

Groups of colleagues who don’t always work together were suddenly problem-solving side by side. Engineers, designers, marketers, and managers all contributed different perspectives. Some teams focused on mechanical design, others on coding strategy, others on testing and optimization. No single person had all the answers, and that was the point.

The room quickly filled with laughter, friendly competition, and genuine moments of creative problem-solving. People were thinking out loud, trying ideas, rebuilding on the fly, and celebrating both successes and spectacular failures.

From our perspective, this is what great team building looks like:

• Hands-on

• Inclusive for all skill levels

• Creative, not forced

• Fun without feeling gimmicky

• Real collaboration under time pressure

It was incredibly rewarding to watch a room full of professionals rediscover the power of playful learning. The same tools we use every day with students translate beautifully into adult environments, where innovation, communication, and experimentation matter just as much.

We left LinkedIn — and the Empire State Building — with amazing photos, energized participants, and a clear takeaway:

The best team building doesn’t feel like an exercise. It feels like a shared win.

If your company is looking for a team experience that blends creativity, technology, and authentic collaboration, we’d love to build something with you.

Corporate Team Building in NYC with LEGO Robotics

MakeInspires offers corporate team building in NYC using hands-on LEGO robotics challenges that promote creativity, collaboration, and problem-solving.

Our programs are ideal for:

• Corporate off-sites

• Hack weeks and innovation sprints

• Company retreats

• Onboarding experiences

• Cross-team collaboration

We work with companies across New York City to create custom team-building experiences that are interactive, inclusive, and genuinely fun — whether hosted in an office, event space, or iconic venues like the Empire State Building.