legopaleo

The Paleontologist, released earlier this year, is part of the Collectible Minifigures Series 13. Credit: Photo: Lynn Moore/DigiNik13

When I was younger I spent many happy childhood hours constructing all sorts of LEGO wonders with little plastic bricks that gave me the freedom to create anything. Since those glorious days, however, LEGO seems to have become more gender stereotyped with themed sets aimed towards different genders.

Times, however, may be changing once more. Maia Weinstock, Deputy Editor of MIT News, made the proposal earlier this year for LEGO to create a themed set to celebrate five incredible women from NASA. The proposal comes after LEGO released the first female lab scientist figure, Professor C. Bodin, back in 2013. Since that time the company have been slowly and quietly adding more female scientists, aerospace engineers, astronauts, and oceanographers to their sets. Through her idea Maia Weinstock wants to highlight the accomplishments of women in the STEM fields and provide girls with role models to aspire to.

The idea has proven popular, with 10,000 people supporting her idea so far. That means LEGO will now take the idea to the review stage and we could see the set hitting stores late next year. I hope it does and that we see the LEGO ‘Girls in STEM’ idea alongside it in the future. We need more girls in STEM related careers like computer science and aerospace, and this is one way to inspire them to explore those normally dreaded science, maths, technology and engineering subjects more.

To discover more about “STEM Girls” head over to our exhibition. Also be sure to read the LEGO Women of NASA and LEGO Girls in STEM proposals. Maia Weinstock has written a short blog about the proposals over at Scientific American.

-Claire Amundson
Junior Girl
Girl Museum Inc.

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