In the years leading up to 2017, the critical roles that women have played throughout the history of NASA have gone seriously under-appreciated. The lack of recognized women in the U.S Space Program has left young girls with no role models that could inspire them to begin a profession with NASA. Finally, some of these NASA pioneers are receiving some credit through the creation of a brand new LEGO set entitled “Women of NASA.”
Maia Weinstock, a science writer/editor and LEGO fan, suggested this idea in 2016, and it acquired 10,000 supporters on the fan-created LEGO Ideas website in August of the same year. Today, LEGO announced that they would officially be producing the set.
The “Women of NASA” set features five women whose contributions to the space program were vital to the success of some of its projects. Margaret Hamilton, Katherine Johnson, Sally Ride, Nancy Grace Roman and Mae Jemison will be made into mini figures, along with a micro-scale Hubble Space telescope, a mini space shuttle, and vignettes that showcase some of the famous code and instruments that these women used.
The release of Hollywood’s smash hit movie “Hidden Figures” has recently spurred a large interest in NASA, and how women have played a role in it. The “Women in NASA” set seems to be riding on the coattails of the hype “Hidden Figures” has been receiving, much like the Ghostbusters LEGO set with all female figures did after the release of the 2016 “Ghostbusters” movie. This provides the opportunity for children to go see “Hidden Figures,” then purchase figures of the strong women they just saw on the big screen and others. These figures can act as a reminder for girls of the strength, intelligence and capabilities that women hold.
The release date of the set has not been announced yet, but when it is, both young children and adults will have the opportunity to learn the history behind some of these incredibly important women. This representation of women demonstrates to girls everywhere that women can pursue the same careers as men, and be just as successful as them in any industry.
