The best new children's books about girls and women in science!
Girls and women are curious, intelligent, persistent, and bold: it's no wonder they can be such good scientists! While women in STEM have fought prejudice for years — much of which still lingers today — they've also made important discoveries, invented world-changing things, and helped humanity make great leaps in our understanding of our planet, the universe, and more. Continue reading Continue reading
The best new books for children and teens about incredible girls and women for Women's History Month 2022.
If you love to introduce kids to incredible girls and women from history, it's been another year full of fabulous new books for children and teens! Their fascinating stories give kids — girls and boys alike — a more nuanced and complete understanding of history, while also providing role models for the next generation of groundbreaking women to come. Continue reading Continue reading
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When she was 12 years old, Vinisha Umashankar watched an ironing cart vendor throw out burnt charcoal in her hometown in southern India. She started thinking about all of the ironing vendors across India who use charcoal to heat an iron and press clothing for a fee and the tremendous environmental impact of the common practice. "It made me think about the amount of charcoal burnt every day," Vinisha recalls, "and the damage it does to the environment." The science-loving Mighty Girl decided to come up with an environmentally friendly alternative and, after poring through college level physics textbooks to understand how solar panels worked, she designed a new ironing cart that uses solar panels to power a steam iron. Three years later, the now 15-year-old has gained worldwide acclaim for her invention, which she hopes to start manufacturing within the next few months, and even addressed COP26, the U.N.'s climate change summit in Glasgow, Scotland. Continue reading Continue reading
How you can help Razia Jan educate the girls of Afghanistan.
Until recently, if you walked into the Zabuli Education Center in the rural district of Deh'Subz outside of Kabul, you would have seen bustling classes from kindergarten through the twelfth grade, full of girls who were attending free of charge. The school was the brainchild of Razia Jan, an Afghan-American entrepreneur and the founder of the Razia's Ray of Hope Foundation. Founded in 2008, Jan's school now educates nearly 800 impoverished girls every year. Over time, it's also changed attitudes in the community about the value of educating girls, especially among men who went from skepticism and even hostility toward the school to bragging about its graduates. "From the day I opened the doors of the Zabuli Education Center, my effort was and is to provide security and the best education for these girls," she said when she was named one of CNN's Heroes of the Year. "With hard work, I have proven to the men of seven villages surrounding the school that this is the best thing that’s happened for their daughters." Continue reading Continue reading
Wally Funk made history as the oldest person to ever travel to space!
In the 1960s, pioneering aviator Wally Funk, who could fly just about anything with wings, was part of the "Mercury 13" program exploring whether women could be astronauts — but despite excelling at all the tests male astronauts took, NASA refused to accept women into the space program. Today, the 82-year-old finally achieved her lifelong dream of traveling to space when she left orbit on commercial space company Blue Origin's inaugural crewed flight! Funk, who became the oldest person ever to leave Earth's atmosphere on today's 10 minute, 19 second journey, joined Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos, his brother Mark Bezos, and 18-year-old Oliver Daemon, a physics student who became the youngest person ever to go to space on the same trip. "No one has waited longer," Bezos wrote in an Instagram post when he announced he had invited Funk on the flight. "It's time. Welcome to the crew, Wally." Continue reading Continue reading
A Mighty Girl's top picks of children's books about female Olympians, from gymnastics greats to soccer stars!
With the Tokyo Olympic Games about to begin, Mighty Girls around the world will be looking on — and dreaming of standing on the podium to claim their own gold medal one day! A century ago, only 65 women competed in the Olympics, making up only 2.5% of Olympic athletes; at this year's Tokyo 2020 summer games, almost 49% of competitors are women, setting a new record for women's participation at the Olympics. It's never been a more exciting time for women in sports or for girls who dream of going to the Olympics someday. Continue reading Continue reading
Kamryn Gardner recently put the persuasive writing skills she learned in her first grade class to work — by asking clothing retailer Old Navy to put pockets in their girls' pants!
Kamryn Gardner recently put the persuasive writing skills she learned in her first grade class to work — by asking clothing retailer Old Navy to put pockets in their girls' pants! After she received yet another pair of jeans where the pockets were sewn shut, Kamryn observed indignantly that "they were fake pockets. It bothered me that they weren’t real pockets." Now, the 7-year-old from Bentonville, Arkansas has gone viral after sharing Old Navy's reply promising to respond to her complaint. "Our design and product teams love hearing feedback from customers, especially young people like Kamryn," says company spokeswoman Sandy Goldberg. "We [will] take suggestions into consideration as we work on future products." Continue reading Continue reading
10-year-old Grace Turner-Cox is running the equivalent of a marathon a week for 20 weeks to raise funds for a charity helping kids with craniosynostosis.
10-year-old Grace Turner-Cox's baby cousin Henry was diagnosed with a rare birth defect after his birth last May — so the Mighty Girl from Basingstoke, England is running the equivalent of a marathon a week to raise money for a UK charity helping kids with craniosynostosis! Grace came up with her fundraising idea at Christmas and she's already completed six marathons and hit her first fundraising target of £1,250 (about $1,750 US) to help support the work of Headlines Craniofacial Support. Now, she plans to continue her runs every week until Henry's first birthday in May, completing the equivalent of 20 marathons. "I might only be 10 years old," says Grace, "but my motivation to run to support this amazing charity has kept me going." Continue reading Continue reading
Lindsay Sobel started her charity Shoes for Souls after seeing the widespread homelessness in Los Angeles.
When Lindsay Sobel was 12 years old, she attended a basketball game at LA's Staples Center arena and was struck by the high levels of homelessness in the area. “I noticed a lot of them were in really awful living conditions, no way any person should have to live. On top of that, I noticed a lot of them did not even have shoes on," she recalls. "At 12 years old, I was like, 'Wow, people don’t have shoes?’ It kind of put things into perspective for me." This experience started the now 17-year-old on a journey that has led her to donate over 30,000 pairs of shoes to people in need throughout Southern California — an incredible accomplishment that she says "makes me full of joy because of the fact that I’m able to help people out.” Continue reading Continue reading
Janet Yellen was sworn in as U.S. Treasury Secretary today, making her the first woman in the Treasury's 232-year history to hold the position.
Janet Yellen was sworn in as U.S. Treasury Secretary today, making her the first woman in the Treasury's 232-year history to hold the nation's most powerful economic position. Yellen was confirmed with broad bipartisan support on a 84-15 vote by the Senate yesterday. She is now the first woman to hold all three top economic job in the federal government having previously served as the chair of Council of Economic Advisors and the chair of the Federal Reserve. Yellen's first priority in her new role will be steering the administration's new stimulus plan, designed to revive the pandemic-battered economy, through Congress and, once approved, oversee the deployment of relief aid to individuals and businesses. Continue reading Continue reading
