Forget a big time Hollywood movie, you know you are finally starting to receive the level of recognition your greatness deserves when LEGO announces they will honor you with your very own collection. This is just what the company will do when they release a new set that pays tribute to the women of NASA, including one of the women at the heart of the movie Hidden Figures.
The newest collection from the company (that we first learned about at Gizmodo) is a fan-designed LEGO Ideas submission from science editor and writer Maia Weinstock. Her proposal to recognize women in STEM professions by honoring some of the most influential women to ever work at NASA got the 10,000 votes needed for it to be formally considered by the toy company. Now LEGO has announced her design will officially go into production after passing the review board.
The spirit of the collection is to honor women working in all fields of science, technology, engineering, and math, and the five people in the set all contributed to important NASA missions over the years, and it includes:
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 Katherine Johnson, Mathematician and Space Scientist: “best known for calculating and verifying trajectories for the Mercury and Apollo programs–including the Apollo 11 mission that first landed humans on the moon.” She was portrayed by Taraji P. Henson in Hidden Figures and was recently honored with an appearance at this year’s Academy Awards.
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Margaret Hamilton, Computer Scientist: “developed the on-board flight software for the Apollo missions to the moon” and “is known for popularizing the modern concept of software.”
- Nancy Grace Roman, Astronomer: “one of the first female executives at NASA” and known “as the “Mother of Hubble” for her role in planning the Hubble Space Telescope, she also developed NASA’s astronomy research program.”
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Sally Ride, Astronaut, Physicist, and Educator: “the first American woman in space in 1983,” she also “founded an educational company focusing on encouraging children–especially girls–to pursue the sciences” after she retired.
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Mae Jemison, Astronaut, Physician, and Entrepreneur: “the first African-American woman in space in 1992” who after retiring “established a company that develops new technologies and encourages students in the sciences.”
While these images give us an idea of what the set might look like, LEGO says that they are “still working out the final product design, pricing and availability for the Women of NASA set,” and to keep an eye out in late 2017 or early 2018 for specifics on the collection.
The uplifting and inspiring Hidden Figures was one of our favorite movies of 2016, and Katherine Johnson’s appearance at the Oscars was our favorite moment of the entire show, so we’ll definitely be on the lookout for when the Women of NASA set comes to stores.
A LEGO set might seem like a small symbol, but it lets a whole new generation of girls–and boys–know that the word “scientist” is gender neutral, just like playing with LEGOs.
How else could LEGO honor the women of STEM? Which female scientists would you want to see included? Help us build some great suggestions in our comments section below.
Images: LEGO Ideas/Maia Weinstock
