19/11/2017
For anyone who missed it when it sold out the day of its release, the Women of Nasa LEGO Building Set is back at https://www.amightygirl.com/lego-women-of-nasa
This new fan-designed LEGO set features four pioneering women who made major contributions to the U.S. space program: Margaret Hamilton, the computer scientist who designed the on-board flight software for the Apollo moon missions; Sally Ride, the first American woman in space; Nancy Grace Roman, the astronomer who played a lead role in designing the Hubble telescope; and Mae Jemison, the first African-American woman in space. The 231-piece set, created by LEGO fan and science writer Maia Weinstock, includes minifigures of all four women and buildable models of the Hubble space telescope and a space shuttle.
Weinstock, who first proposed the set on LEGO's crowdsourcing design platform, designed her set to increase awareness of the contributions these women made to the space program and to science as a whole. “In many cases, their contributions are unknown or under-appreciated — especially as women have historically struggled to gain acceptance in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM),” she wrote in her proposal. “This proposed set celebrates five notable NASA pioneers and provides an educational building experience to help young ones and adults alike learn about the history of women in STEM.” While Weinstock initially proposed including mathematician Katherine Johnson as well, LEGO was unable to obtain permission for her inclusion. For her part, Weinstock is thrilled that her set is being brought to life, observing that it's "critical to have toys that girls can look at and play with and think, ‘that's me!'’ or ‘that could be me!’... I also just hope that girls *and* boys will take away from it the sense that women belong in engineering, in mathematics. I hope in some small way it helps to inspire the kids of the future!”
To learn more or order the Women of Nasa LEGO Set, visit https://www.amightygirl.com/lego-women-of-nasa
The now discontinued LEGO Research Institute featuring female scientists is also still available (for a premium) on Amazon at http://amzn.to/2hFJzsj
For more toys to inspire space-loving Mighty Girls, visit our new blog post "Reach for the Stars!" at https://www.amightygirl.com/blog?p=16848
To introduce kids to these trailblazing women of NASA, there are a number of new books available telling their stories including: “You Should Meet: Mae Jemison” for ages 6 to 8 (https://www.amightygirl.com/mae-jemison-1), "Margaret and the Moon" for ages 5 to 9 (https://www.amightygirl.com/margaret-and-the-moon), and "Women in Science: 50 Fearless Pioneers," for ages 9 and up (https://www.amightygirl.com/women-in-science)
For a diverse collection of LEGO sets featuring female characters and minifigures based on women, visit our "LEGO Collection" at http://amgrl.co/2yrMYon
And, for more Mighty Girl toy recommendations for the upcoming holiday season, you can sign up for our weekly email newsletter at https://www.amightygirl.com/forms/newsletter
