Getting Girls Interested in Engineering with GoldieBlox

I participated in a campaign with The Motherhood and GoldieBlox. All opinions are 100% my own.

Raising Girls in our society is becoming a challenge. Flat out, we’re dumbing down our girls. Harsh but true. The pink aisle is all dolls and princess dress up. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying those things are terrible but I am saying that we need a bigger variety of educational toys that stimulate the brain a lot more. Products what promote STEM learning. If you don’t know what STEM stands for its Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. That’s why I’ve been following GoldieBlox since they launched their Kickstarter campaign. I immediately got excited when I saw what the creator Debbie Sterling was doing to get girls interested in engineering. Then they won the Intuit Super Bowl ad are were seen by millions. I helped by voting them in. 

Girls tend to lose interest in math and science around age 8. 14% of engineers are female, that’s a very low number for one of the fastest growing industries next to technology. Engineers play a pivotal role in our society, building and creating the world around us. In her extensive research on how kids play, Debbie Sterling, GoldieBlox founder and CEO, found that boys tend to gravitate toward construction toys that strengthen their spatial skills, while girls tend to be more interested in stories and characters that strengthen their verbal skills. Meet GoldieBlox!

GoldieBlox combines reading, which girls enjoy, with their interactive books and construction sets. Goldie, the star of GoldieBlox toys, is a girl inventor who goes on adventures and solves problems by building simple machines. As kids read along, they build what Goldie builds with the included toolkit, learning engineering principles as they go. Each book features additional designs as inspiration for endless building possibilities. But the best aspect is the freedom to imagine and build anything out of the set. 

We received the Parade Float and The Dunk Tank to build. The moment they were opened we built everything and had so much fun dunking Nacho into a cup of water to take a bath. We even got the little one involved by helping her to get the pieces her sister needed to complete the project. Block, check. Long pole, check. 

The books are simple to follow along and build the main project. Everything comes in the neat box that is organized so that you can see everything clearly. Of course that didn’t last long and we now have them in the big box all together. 

But now we are free to build outside the box and build whatever comes to mind, and I assure you she does. The other day she built a drink holder to carry behind her. The drink kept falling so I watched as she added additional pieces in order to solve the problem. It was amazing watching her process and build. Since we’ve started using GoldieBlox I’ve learned that she really does love STEM activities. We’ve started looking for great STEM programs in the area to take her to also. I’ve also discovered a school! 

My house is starting to look like the image below, and I’m completely ok with that. Her birthday is coming up and I’ve already set my eyes on one of the newest GoldieBlox sets that are releasing this year, GoldieBlox and the Builder’s Survival Guide that has more than 190 pieces to build anything your imagination things up! GoldieBlox have open my daughters mind up to a whole new level. I hope her love for engineering and all things STEM stick around. I’m going to try and keep it going as long as possible.