The current societal interest in promoting science, technology, engineering, and math to children in general, but especially to girls, is increasingly having an impact on the licensing business.
Several TV shows with STEM themes have girls as leading characters, for instance. Examples include Jim Henson Productions’ Doozers, Genius Brands’ Thomas Edison’s Secret Lab, Fred Rogers Company’s Peg + Cat, WGBH’s Plum Landing, and Amazon’s Annedroids. Several of these have launched limited licensing efforts, carrying the educational themes into closely related categories such as books and apps.
Meanwhile, girl-friendly characters from non-educational entertainment properties are slowly starting to make their way into the educational products and content sector. One recent example is Disney’s Frozen, which in recent weeks was added to the Disney ImagiCademy educational platform, launched earlier this year, in the form of a science app for young children.
Licensed science toys specifically targeting females are still few and far between, but recent happenings in the toy industry suggest a reversal of that trend could occur in the near future. Science kit maker SmartLab has introduced Spa Lab, a girl-skewing chemistry set focusing on lip and body balms. In the fast-growing and engineering-friendly construction toy category, Goldie Blox has been a successful and high-profile entrant, while LEGO’s Research Institute set features three female scientist figures.
The latter was suggested by fans through the LEGO Review crowdsourcing process, reflecting the growing consumer interest in a more prominent role for girl-focused science- and STEM-themed toys.
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