LEGO announced last week that it will create its first female space figures, celebrating women who have played important roles in the history of NASA.
According to the project proposal written by Maia Weinstock, the set celebrates five notable NASA pioneers and helps young people and adults learn about the history of women in STEM. The women featured in the set are Margaret Hamilton, Katherine Johnson, Sally Ride, Nancy Grace Roman and Mae Jemison. Johnson was a main character in the 2016 film "Hidden Figures."
Weinstock, who also created the set, said in an email that she has been making miniature figures of women in science and engineering for a long time now.
“For this proposal on LEGO ideas, I melded three of my passions: space exploration, the history of women in STEM, and, of course, LEGO,” she said.
Weinstock said children take cues from society very early in terms of what fields they are expected to excel in or go into as a career. It is important for boys and girls to see female characters in scientific engineering or other technical fields for a couple reasons, she said.
“One, it helps to encourage girls, to say to them: You belong here. And two, it shows boys that this is normal and expected,” she said.
Crystal Harden, director of programs and strategic initiatives at the Morehead Planetarium and Science Center, said it is meaningful for young girls to have role models so they can see themselves in positions that traditions and preconceived notions have told them they can’t participate in.
“I think a toy as simple as a LEGO, having that type of collection, is a visual representation to a young girl of if they made this, someone else had already done this, so it can be done again,” she said.
Harden said she did not have female role models in science growing up.
