Building Toys For Girls

by POPSUGAR Tech 0

Not all fairy tales are about princesses, as a new toy for girls is out to prove. Goldie Blox, a construction toy and book series for girls, is ready to show little ladies that engineering and fun aren't mutually exclusive. The story's star is a young inventor named Goldie who fashions a belt drive out of pegs, axles, wheels, and ribbon, right alongside her readers.

As an engineering student at Stanford, Debbie Sterling observed a startling deficit of women in her department. Over 89 percent of engineers were male, due in no small part to the construction toys, like Lego and K'Nex, that targeted boys and fostered their early interest in engineering and science.

Trying to make sense of why there are so few females in the field, Debbie discovered that, generally, girls like to read and boys like to build, so she combined the two to create a toy, Goldie Blox, that uses girls' natural verbal skills to teach the important spatial skills that engineers need. The project has yet to reach its Kickstarter goal of $150,000, so, if you're interested, consider contributing to its campaign.

For more details on Goldie Blox from the creator herself, watch what Debbie has to say about her project after the jump.