#GirlsWithToys is taking the Internet by storm. I’ve been seeing this hashtag all over social media, and I’m loving it!
For those of you who don’t know, #GirlsWithToys is a viral campaign started in response to an episode of “Joe’s Big Idea” on NPR’s Weekend Edition. In the episode, Professor Shrinivas Kulkarni of the California Institute of Technology stated that,
“Many scientists, I think, secretly are what I call us ‘boys with toys.’”
Host Joe Palca repeated the comment.
“And I think there’s nothing wrong with that, except…,” replied Kulkarni.
“Boys with toys,” repeated Palca again.
“…you’re not supposed to say that,” Kulkarni finished.
Why is it a problem? Well, boys aren’t the only ones with toys! And they certainly aren’t the only ones in STEM fields, as our recent exhibition STEM Girls demonstrated. So, STEM women and girls around the world have banded together on social media to show that such “toys” are also for girls – including telescopes, robots, and dark matter detectors.
Check out some of the fabulous tweets of #girlswithtoys that we’ve found, and show your love for STEM by posting your own image on social media. Better yet, submit your story to be featured on our blog.
My 8yr old daughter driving a rover #GirlsWithToys pic.twitter.com/Lb2hb9vo0f
— Frejya Fierce (@melissapierce) May 17, 2015
In mass spec lab now reading the #girlswithtoys stream. This awesome toy is a thermal ionization mass spectrometer! pic.twitter.com/bGF8T7pbz5
— Rita Parai (@HeNeArXe) May 16, 2015
That’s me – in a snorkel & 5mm wetsuit, about to noodle out a giant hellbender salamander in 55F H2O. #girlswithtoys pic.twitter.com/yYPQGI2b0G
— Kimberly Terrell (@SnotOtters) May 20, 2015
Budding #coders. #GirlsWithToys #WomenInSTEM pic.twitter.com/RTEoBWgycA
— Girls Who Code (@GirlsWhoCode) May 18, 2015
I’m afraid Margaret Hamilton just won #GirlsWithToys ‚Äú@stevemilan: Still blown away by this photo. pic.twitter.com/9KsiKCAKRh‚Äù
— Elizabeth Tasker (@girlandkat) May 17, 2015
-Tiffany Rhoades
Program Developer
Girl Museum Inc.