After the launch of a new line of role model barbies in March, Mattel is continuing their efforts to inspire young girls with the release of a brand-new powerhouse doll: Robotics Engineer Barbie.
“For almost 60 years, Barbie has exposed girls to roles where women are underrepresented to show them that they can be anything,” Barbie’s Senior Vice President and General Manager Lisa McKnight told People. “By playing with Robotics Engineer Barbie on and offline, we are giving girls a new platform for play in their imaginary world and teaching them important skills for their real world.”
Mattel partnered with Black Girls Code, a non-profit which focuses on providing technology education for African-American girls, to show their young customers that a career in tech is also possible for women of any color.
Here’s the new @Barbie Robotics Engineer! Bay Area nonprofit @BlackGirlsCode partnered with Barbie to promote and encourage girls in STEM. @KPIXtv pic.twitter.com/aiAYj0FWKf
— Mary Lee (@MaryKPIX) June 26, 2018
Robotics Engineer Barbie comes with a doll-sized laptop computer, safety goggles, and a tiny robot. She also wears clothes that are more sensible for a tech environment, including having her hair pulled back, a denim jacket, black trousers, a t-shirt, and sneakers. The doll is also featured in four variations, each with a different skin tone.
However, Robotics Engineer Barbie is not just a doll that kids can play along with – they can learn to code with her, too. According to People, Mattel also partnered with Tynker, an online platform that teaches children how to make games and programs, to release a coding e-book called Code Camp for Barbie and Friends.
Welcome to the world, Robotics Engineer Barbie 👋🏾 Mattel also released coding lessons in partnership with @gotynker and will support robotics workshops put on by @BlackGirlsCode. #girlsinSTEM #girlsintech https://t.co/AmfTkqvy0B
— sister (@sisterSTEM) June 26, 2018
“Our mission is to empower youth to become the makers of tomorrow through coding, and the Barbie brand is an ideal partner to help us introduce programming to a large number of kids in a fun, engaging way,” Krishna Vedati, co-founder and CEO, Tynker said.
