LEGO 2000 / Duplo / Building Sets Sets

Building Sets are the plain DUPLO brick sets, buckets and boxes of bricks without a story. DUPLO started in 1969, and the name comes from the Latin word for double, because each brick is twice as long, wide and high as a LEGO brick. The studs are made to fit, so DUPLO and LEGO bricks lock together and a builder can move from one to the other. For years the plastic bucket was the usual way to sell them, from the 1980s through the early 2000s, often shaped or printed as an animal, a farm or a circus, and some came as anniversary editions. Later sets switched to cardboard brick boxes with ideas for what to build on the side.

2000 LEGO Sets

2000 was a year of transition and innovation for LEGO. The company introduced RoboRiders, Knights’ Kingdom, Life on Mars, Studios, and a Soccer/Football theme while retiring veteran designer Jens Nygaard Knudsen, creator of the minifigure. Star Wars launched its first Ultimate Collector Series sets—the X-wing Fighter (7191) and TIE Interceptor (7181)—establishing LEGO’s adult collector market. BIONICLE debuted in select regions, setting the stage for a major global launch. Recognized as 'Toy of the Century,' the LEGO brick entered the new millennium as both a cultural icon and a growing creative platform.