LEGO have finally taken the bold step of recognising that little girls should have smart career role models in their latest toy release LEGO Research Institute. And I think it’s time for a cheer. Do you?
Perhaps in response to a scathing letter by a seven year old girl that went viral online earlier in the year, Lego have on August 1 released a range that includes a female palaeontologist, chemist and astronomer. The female protagonist has apparently found an era where it is PC to be a bold career woman. And the product has sold so well in the US there is already a one month waiting list.
Young Charlotte Benjamin criticised LEGO earlier this year on social media with the below comment
“I love legos”, she said, complaining that the toys female targeting products were too girly.
“All the girls did was sit at home, go to the beach, and shop, and they had no jobs but the boys went on adventures, worked, saved people, and had jobs, and even swam with sharks.”
Real-life geoscientist, Ellen Kooijman, apparently created the Lego set. Her collection of scenes depicts three varied professions within the world of natural science. Kids can help the paleontologist study the origin of dinosaurs with the magnifying glass, map the skies with the astronomer and her telescope, and assist the chemist as she carries out experiments in her lab.
I’m personally rather thrilled to see the world evolving in this way. I have two young girls myself, who love playing with legos but until now could only own the horse shows, or the pretty feminine houses sets, while boys have had rockets, and vehicles and other complex, awesome and interesting pieces.
My grandmother was the first female graduate from a science degree at Sydney University back in 1938. She studied botany and zoology, an area largely reserved for men in that era. She worked in her field for only a few years in life before she gave up work to support her husband and raise her children.
But she never stopped being a crusader for her girls and grand children to have an education.
And now, two generations later, one of the biggest childhood brands has caught on… they want women to be scientists too!
Share your thoughts today… Would you buy your granddaughters the Lego Scientist set?
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