Lego Gives Women The Credit They Deserve With New 'Female Scientist' Series

For the young girls who'd rather play with beakers than Barbie dolls, Lego has released a minifigure series of female scientists working with their lab tools.

The newest figures, which feature an astronomer with her telescope, a chemist in her lab and a paleontologist alongside a dinosaur skeleton, are said to celebrate the women who work in science-related fields.

The idea for this lego set was first proposed by Dr. Ellen Kooiljman, who submitted the idea in December 2013 to Lego CUUSO, a platform that lets Lego fans suggest ideas and themes that might later be approved for commercial manufacturing and distribution.

After gaining over 10,000 supporters, Kooiljman was alerted that the Research Institute-sponsored project would be produced.

Kooiljman said the newest minifigures, which will be released to mass audiences in August, are a good way to encourage girls to think about careers in the sciences. In her proposal, Kooiljman wrote,

Although recently [Lego] has started to design and add more female figures to their sets, they are still a minority. I have designed some professional female minifigures that also show that girls can become anything they want, including a paleontologist or an astronomer.

Lego has received flak in the past for only creating male-centered toys. In 2012, its attempt to appeal to female customers through the Lego Friends line was criticized as being largely sexist because it showed its female figurines at juice bars and bakeries, and was primarily pink and purple.

Hopefully, this new line and more encompassing portrayal of women will prove that Lego is taking steps in the right direction to provide toys that are representative of the real interests of both young girls and boys.

H/T: Science Alert, Photo Courtesy: Lego Ideas