A company called GoldieBlox is working to get (and keep) girls interested in science and engineering. While the Division of Science and Research is not advertising for the company, this video is a great example and a giant step in the right direction for the future of STEM fields.
A statement on the company’s website says, “In a world where men largely outnumber women in science, technology, engineering and math…and girls lose interest in these subjects as early as age 8, GoldieBlox is determined to change the equation. Construction toys develop an early interest in these subjects, but for over a hundred years, they’ve been considered ‘boys’ toys’. By designing a construction toy from the female perspective, we aim to disrupt the pink aisle and inspire the future generation of female engineers.”
The founder of the new company spent a year researching gender differences to develop a construction toy that went deeper than just “making it pink” to appeal to girls. She read articles on the female brain, cognitive development and children’s play patterns. She interviewed parents, educators, neuroscientists and STEM experts. Most importantly, she played with hundreds of kids. Her research led her to the understand that girls have strong verbal skills. They love stories and characters. They aren’t as interested in building for the sake of building; they want to know why. GoldieBlox stories replace the 1-2-3 instruction manual and provide narrative-based building, centered around a role model character who solves problems by building machines. Goldie’s stories relate to girls’ lives, have a sense of humor and make engineering fun.