Watch out Marie Curie, STEM Barbie is here

Rockstar. Nurse. Astronaut. Newscaster. Barbie has had a lot of jobs over the years – more than 150 to be exact. But this holiday season Mattel’s (MAT) iconic doll is looking to teach science, technology, engineering and math (known as ‘STEM’) to girls. That’s right, STEM Barbie is here.

Mattel teamed up with science kit maker Thames and Kosmos for the Barbie STEM kit. The kit comes with a building set that can be used to create a rotating closet, a shoe rack, a washing machine and a greenhouse.

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I found it a little annoying that Barbie was mostly interested in creating things to take care of her vast clothing and shoe collection, but Laurie Schacht, President and Chief Toy Officer at the Toy Insider, says in the attached video that it made sense for STEM Barbie for the time being. While we may want Barbie to build a space shuttle and not a washing machine, the goal of more girls in STEM careers may have to override my initial concerns about the toy.

I tried the new toy out on my two girls ages 4 and 9 and while I hate to say it, the fact that the box was pink and that there was a Barbie doll included, led to a lot of excitement. I brought half a dozen toys home for them to test out and this was the first one they wanted to open.

There were lots of other STEM projects in the relatively hefty instruction manual. One consisted of an optical illusion origami dress, and another experiment that involved food-dye that I was afraid would be too messy. Maybe I’m the one not encouraging girls to be more STEM oriented?

Schacht says Barbie skews young, as young as the preschool set. The manufacturer’s suggested age range is 4-12 for Barbie STEM kit, but without her older sister my 4-year old would have been a frustrated future engineer. Together, it was at least an hour of good fun, and you get a Barbie doll out of it no matter what – or until your mom has to send it back to the manufacturer for work.