GoldieBlox, the Engineering Toy for Girls, Is a Reality After a Moving Video Inspires Crowdfunding

In August, Debbie Sterling, an engineer from Stanford, launched a Kickstarter campaign in an attempt to fund GoldieBlox — a construction toy for girls. Sterling explains that she created the toy because:

When I was a little girl, I thought the word “engineering” was nerdy and intimidating and just for boys. I’ve since learned I was so wrong. Engineers build all the important things we use every day…things that make our lives better. The scary truth is that only 11% of engineers are women and girls start losing interest in science as young as age 8! This is our chance to change that statistic.

GoldieBlox is a toy with a companion book; as girls read about what Goldie is building, they can build it themselves. The video was a success — the project has already raised over $285,000 on Kickstarter, which means it’s gone from being a concept and prototype to an actual toy for sale.

Sterling hopes that there will eventually be a series of books, and, in an interview, told The Huffington Post:

I left a comfortable, well-paying job because literally ALL I could think about was solving this problem of getting more girls into engineering. People say when you find your passion, “you know.” In my case, that is entirely true.

Move Over, Barbie – You’re Obsolete [Upworthy]
GoldieBlox Hits a Sweet Spot for Getting Girls Excited About Engineering [Wired]
Can GoldieBlox, AKA Legos For Girls, Entice More Girls To Be Engineers? [HuffPo]
GoldieBlox: A Toy And Book Series Designed To Get Young Girls Interested In Engineering [FastCoExist]
Can a Kids’ Toy Bring More Women Into Engineering? [The Atlantic]
Beauty, Brains and Business: Engineering Girls for a Man’s World [Forbes]
GoldieBlox, The Toy Designed To Inspire Future Female Engineers [Time]