Looking to the Future

Is there a little girl in your life? Do most of her toys come from a store that has a pink aisle and a blue aisle? Is she overloaded with princess paraphernalia? While that can be fun, for most of us being a princess is not a viable path to gainful employment or to making a contribution to our world. On the other hand . . . meet GoldieBlox! Debbie Sterling, a Stanford graduate and engineer-turned-entrepreneur, has started a small company with a big message – “Engineering isn’t just for boys!” With its higher pay and almost-limitless opportunities for creation, engineering is one of the areas of STEM that is still very much dominated by men – 87% male, by recent studies. To find out more about early influences on girls and about Sterling’s new toys, go to her website, and be sure to watch the video – www.goldieblox.com. Once you start looking for ways to give young girls experience and positive reinforcement in science, you’ll see free opportunities everywhere – mindfully choosing their books, toys and activities, doing “chemistry” in the kitchen, letting them be a part of using equipment at home, seeing how it works and thinking of ideas for what to do when it doesn’t, making “inventions” on paper or with old pieces of other objects. After Women’s History Month 2013 and its emphasis on STEM, we’re hoping the future holds more science for young women than just the occasional pink hammer around the house.