GoldieBlox (and Rosie Revere, Engineer, too)

This site is about how fairy tales appear in the world around us. So it's fun to see more unusual interpretations such as GoldieBlox. No, the toy line has nothing to do with fairy tales, but it plays with a well known fairy tale character to promote engineering education for girls.

The toy line has had controversy of late over a recent promotional video using music from Beastie Boys. No big deal here but it brought the toys to my attention so I would share. Which made it more visible to naysayers saying the toys are not as effective as others at promoting engineering to girls. (See Better Than GoldieBlox) I appreciate the line and its purpose. And if it works for you, use it! Nothing works the same for everyone.

Read an article about the toys at GoldieBlox Demands Change With An Incredible New Music Video by Sarah Barness. More YouTube videos about the toys are here.

While we are here, I will recommend a book I saw presented at the Southern Festival of Books this past October.  Rosie Revere, Engineer by Andrea Beaty (Author) , David Roberts (Illustrator) is a great book at showing an inventive girl, and it is a companion to an earlier book, Iggy Peck, Architect.

Book description:

Rosie may seem quiet during the day, but at night she's a brilliant inventor of gizmos and gadgets who dreams of becoming a great engineer. When her great-great-aunt Rose (Rosie the Riveter) comes for a visit and mentions her one unfinished goal--to fly--Rosie sets to work building a contraption to make her aunt's dream come true. But when her contraption doesn't fl y but rather hovers for a moment and then crashes, Rosie deems the invention a failure. On the contrary, Aunt Rose inisists that Rosie's contraption was a raging success. You can only truly fail, she explains, if you quit.