OMG: The real-life woman who inspired “Hidden Figures” just became a Lego figure
What a perfect way to kick off Women’s History Month! Katherine Johnson, the woman who inspired Taraji P. Henson’s character in Hidden Figures, is now part of a Lego set honoring women at NASA, and she’s joined by four verybadass colleagues. You’re going to want to snatch up one of these Lego play sets before they sell out — because they definitely will.
*Pause for applause*
In addition to mathematician Johnson, the set — which does not yet have a release date — will include fellow NASA women Sally Ride, the first American woman in space, Margaret Hamilton, a computer scientist who “developed the on-board flight software for the Apollo missions to the moon,” Nancy Grace Roman, an astronomer known as the “Mother of Hubble,” the space telescope, and Mae Jemison, the first African-American woman in space.
Thrilled to finally share: @LegoNASAWomen has passed the @LEGOIdeas Review and will soon be a real LEGO set! https://t.co/rcyjANsVD9 pic.twitter.com/b9OVx5UBaL
— Maia Portell Weinstock ✨ (@20tauri) February 28, 2017
The set was imagined by science writer and deputy editor of MIT News Maia Weinstock, who submitted her concept through Lego’s crowdsourced “Ideas” portal. After garnering support from more than 10,000 Lego fans, Weinstock’s concept went on to the official Lego review process — and was approved on February 28th.
“Women have played critical roles throughout the history of the U.S. space program,” wrote Weinstock on her submission page.
"Yet in many cases, their contributions are unknown or under-appreciated — especially as women have historically struggled to gain acceptance in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM)."
Awesome to be featured as a LEGO with Dr. Sally Ride! @LegoNASAWomen @LEGOIdeas @20tauri pic.twitter.com/Y1V9snil24
— Dr. Mae Jemison (@maejemison) March 2, 2017
Now, though, NASA’s STEM women are getting a very mainstream nod, and we truly cannot wait for this set to be released. It’s the perfect gift for everyone we know — from kids all the way up to grandparents!
Also, almost all of these NASA women are still alive — Ride died in 2012 from pancreatic cancer — and we can’t help but hope that Lego will gather them together for the launch of this set. Pretty please, Lego?
