Until today, I considered myself an incredible designer, implementer, and problem solver. I am a female, in a male dominated computer software engineer world. I can declare variables, parse difficult data into the latest and greatest format, and even use Photoshop to finish up my GUI's plain gray form face. That was all until today. Today, I went to a children's science museum with my three and five year old boys. It left me perplexed about my inabilities and shortcomings in a world I have not yet tapped. I have never built a "LEGO" car, "LEGO" space ship, or even a "LEGO" monster.
My little boys ran up to the massive heap of plastic brick blocks with shrills and delight, knowing the name brand without knowing how to read. My three year old, stacked similar colored blocks in a perfect block shape and then grew it larger and larger. My five year old was fortunate enough to find the remnants of an automobile with wheels intact to begin his creative adventure. I sat, and within a single blink of an eye realized I was outside my center of comfort. I was supposed to know this stuff! I own a toy store; I am a computer geek, why have I not been exposed to Lego's? I am almost 35 years old and have no idea how to form a rubber ring to a flat plate and make it work.
I looked around. There were 100% boys that surrounded the table. There were many girls at the museum, but they were working with art, motion, and much to my surprise, sitting in smaller groups talking. There were very few girls actually ENGAGED in science.
Lego had an idea a few years back to create a "girl" series of Lego's. The futuristic sticks, and people that were predominately pink and purple left little to the imagination and added no base building skill and logic components that the core Lego brand teaches with primary colors, dinosaur, car, and male-focused building sets.
I am truly disappointed that this toy has missed a complete gender. The LEGO is ingenious. Every skill from simple colors and counting all through complex robotics are found with this plastic snap toy.
