By Mary Whitfill, editor-in-chief 

For decades, universities and secondary schools have been in the business of trying to entice young girls to get into science. By idolizing iconic female scientists and marketing to a female audience, those in the field have been trying to change up the idea of science as a male-only vocation.

Now, these promoters of females in the industry are getting a hand from one of the most popular toy companies in history: Lego.

In January, a 7-year-old girl named Charlotte Benjamin wrote to Lego denouncing their female toys as boring. Charlotte claimed that the Lego toys made specifically for girls showed them sitting at home, going to the beach or shopping, while the boy Legos had jobs and got to save people.

Within days Lego had responded to the letter, and six months later the company has come out with a female scientist set, designed by geoscientist Ellen Kooijman. The new kit includes various STEM professions including a paleontologist, a chemist and an astronomer. The new kit is part of the Lego Ideas series, which includes building sets that are based on fan input, and includes pieces such as a telescope and dinosaur fossils.

According to a report by NPR, Lego has recently been under fire for orienting their toys too much towards a specific gender. Although the company has always promoted themselves as a gender-neutral company, in 2011 they began producing more female toys, which led to a petition demanding less distinguishing toys.

The $20 set is available on the company’s website.

Photo courtesy Lego.