A Mighty Girl's top picks of science toys and kits to encourage outdoor discovery and exploration.

One of the best ways to spark a child's love for science is by allowing her to learn about it in the real world through outdoor play and discovery. Whether she's examining a favorite new insect, gazing at the stars, or cultivating a garden, nature is full of wonders to excite curious kids. And, with a few fun science toys, kits, and tools, kids can do a lot of learning and exploring on their own — and have a ball doing it!

In this blog post, we've showcased two dozen of our favorite toys and kits to help kids get started on their outdoor explorations. From a set of field tools for kids to a rotating star map of the sky, these toys will let kids explore wherever their curiosity takes them. And, whether you have a budding naturalist, entomologist, astronomer, or geologist, there's something here for everyone!

For Mighty Girl books about girls who love to explore the great outdoors, check out our blog post, 30 Mighty Girl Books About Outdoor Discovery, or browse our entire Animals & Nature book collection. Continue reading → Continue reading

A Mighty Girl's top picks of girl-empowering books for middle grade readers!

One of the great joys of summer for avid young readers is the opportunity to explore books all on their own! Tweens are ready for intriguing, original, and complex stories, which means that middle grade readers can find titles perfect for them in every genre. And with new titles coming out all the time — many of them starring Mighty Girl characters — there is an ever-growing selection of books to choose from! Continue reading → Continue reading

Dr. Frances Arnold, who pioneered the field of "directed evolution," became the fifth woman in history to win the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

Dr. Frances Arnold has just been awarded the 2018 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for pioneering the field of "directed evolution"  —  becoming the first American woman in history and the fifth woman overall to be honored.  The method she developed of engineering enzymes that mimic the process of natural selection has created a revolutionary new way for scientists and engineers to design more environmentally-friendly industrial processes. It's now being used in laboratories around the world to develop enzymes that can replace toxic compounds in everything from medicines to biofuels to laundry detergents. “My entire career I have been concerned about the damage we are doing to the planet and each other,” she says. “Change is easier when there are good, economically viable alternatives to harmful habits.” Continue reading → Continue reading

We received a record number of photo submissions for our 2015 Halloween Gallery and we're awed by the creativity and variety of these Mighty Girls' amazing costumes. As we've always said, Mighty Girls know that their costume possibilities are limited only by their imaginations and with costumes ranging from ones based on favorite superheroes to ones inspired by historic role models, these Mighty Girls clearly know no bounds!

In this post, we've showcased a small sample of these incredible costumes -- to browse the nearly 2,000 photos submitted, visit the 2015 A Mighty Girl Halloween Gallery. And, to help you and your Mighty Girl learn more about the wonderful characters and historic figures depicted, we've also linked to our character collection and biography section where relevant.

And, if you're seeking girl-empowering dress-up clothing or costumes anytime of year, visit our extensive costume collection with options for all ages from infants through adults in A Mighty Girl's Halloween Costume Guide. You can also find Mighty Girl stories for many of the upcoming holidays, including Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, and Christmas, in our Holidays & Celebrations collection. Continue reading → Continue reading

A Mighty Girl's top picks of books, toys, and gear to inspire young astronomers -- and introduce them to the women who helped us understand the stars.

On August 21, people across North America will get the chance to witness a once-in-a-lifetime astronomical event: a solar eclipse! It's the first total eclipse in the continental US since 1979, and for central US states, the first total eclipse since 1918. Even for those not in the zone of totality, partial eclipses will be visible in many places. So it's no wonder that there is so much excitement brewing — and with it, a surge of interest in astronomy and all things space!

If the upcoming eclipse has your kids clamoring to learn more about astronomy, this is the perfect time to pursue their interest — and to share stories of the little-known women who have made enormous contributions to the field. In this blog post, we're providing a selection of books to talk about the eclipse itself and gear to view the eclipse safely,  as well as a variety of toys and science kits to support an interest in astronomy, and books about female astronomers throughout history. It's a great way to show kids of all ages that the sky doesn't have to be the limit! Continue reading → Continue reading

By Katherine Handcock, A Mighty Girl Communications Specialist

In our new Mighty Careers series, we celebrate careers that your Mighty Girl may be dreaming of pursuing one day. In each blog, we’ll profile a career role model and provide recommendations for books, toys, clothing, and even room decor to help inspire your Mighty Girl. Whether she’s three or thirteen, there will be resources to help her learn more about her dream job, imagine herself living it, and let the world know what she hopes to be when she grows up.

This post is dedicated to all the Mighty Girls who dream of taking to the skies and all of the trailblazing women pilots who have come before them! Currently, with women accounting for only 6% of licensed pilots, we are still very much in the minority but we’re betting this next generation of Mighty Girls is going to change that.

If your Mighty Girl can’t wait for the day she gets to lay her hand on the controls of a real airplane or you'd like to encourage her interest, this post provides recommendations for girl-empowering books, toys, clothing, and room decor that celebrate a love of flight. So put your seat backs and tray tables in their upright and locked position, and prepare for takeoff! With a determined Mighty Girl at the helm, she’s sure to soar to great heights.

To read the first two posts in our new Mighty Careers series, check out: I Want To Be An Astronaut! and I Want To Be A Wildlife Biologist!. Continue reading → Continue reading

A Mighty Girl's top picks of girl-empowering chapter books for young readers.

There's little that compares with the amazing moment when a young reader realizes she can read on her own! It's a tremendous accomplishment when a child gets through her own book from cover to cover. The best way to encourage that practice is to fill your young reader's shelves with fun, exciting, and just-challenging-enough books to read, but finding those books — especially girl-empowering titles — can often be difficult. Sometimes you need a leveled reader that suits your child's ability, and sometimes you're looking for the perfect early chapter book. Whatever you're looking for, you want it to be entertaining enough to catch their attention but of sufficient quality to properly exercise their reading skills. Continue reading → Continue reading

Our favorite costumes based on popular Mighty Girl characters and photos of Mighty Girls in costume shared by our community!

Halloween is all about imagining yourself as someone else so if there's a character that speaks to you, why not dress up as them? Most kids have a favorite character, and whether that character is from a book, TV show, or a movie, Halloween provides a great opportunity to become the character they love — at least for a day! Continue reading → Continue reading

A Mighty Girl's top picks of girl-empowering graphic novels for children!

While many people think of graphic novels as "just comic books", the truth is that a good graphic novel doesn't simplify a story: instead, it amplifies it, drawing out details and adding emotional weight. For young or reluctant readers, in particular, a graphic novel format makes it easier to understand more complex stories. In fact, we'd argue that high-quality graphic novels are a key part of any library! Continue reading → Continue reading

A Mighty Girl's top picks of girl-empowering box sets and collections for children and teens!

If there’s anything a reader loves more than a new book, it’s a captivating new series! A series is an excellent way to encourage kids' interest in reading as they get drawn into a story over several books — and, for those rabid readers, collections let them find out what happens to their favorite new character without having to wait for the next book to be released! Continue reading → Continue reading