Moms Launch a Company to Sell Science-Themed Clothing for Little Girls

If you’ve shopped for kids clothing or even wandered through a Babies R Us lately, you’ll know that the options for little girls are heavy on the light pink, hot pink, sparkles, tutus, and leopard print.

There’s nothing wrong with any of that (except maybe the leopard? that’s a lot of look for a toddler), but it’s a bummer to see that the bulk of the science stuff generally sits in the boys’ department. Sure, you could buy it anyway, but it’s sad that a back-to-school shopping trip sends the message that rockets are for boys, princesses are for girls. And heaven help you if you’ve got a girl who likes dresses but wants them covered in science.

ABC News reports that there are two moms who want to correct that imbalance with their new company, buddingSTEM:

[Jennifer] Muhm, who works in public affairs, said her daughter, now 5, really wanted to be an astronaut for Halloween in 2013. But when the costume catalogs came in the mail, her daughter noticed that only boys were shown wearing the astronaut costume. “She looked at me and said, ‘I can’t be an astronaut. They’re only for boys,’” Muhm said.

Her cofounder Malorie Catchpole has a similar story: Her daughter loves trains and wanted train-emblazoned underwear for Christmas, but all her options were made for boys. “We’re not anti-princess. We’re not anti-pink. We’re not anti-girly. We just think there needs to be more than just that offered for our girls,” said Muhm.

So the pair teamed up to start their company, which just hit its Kickstarter goal. They hope to start selling their wares in July, starting with dresses, t-shirts, leggings and onesies in Apatosaurus and rocketship patterns. And I must admit they’re pretty cute: