Washington, May 18 (IANS) Disney, along with Google and NASA, is working on a new TV show that will inspire young girls to pursue a career in science and technology.
According to a Washington Post report, kids’ TV channel Disney Junior approached Google and the US space agency for the new science series named “Miles From Tomorrowland”.
It is about a space adventure-seeking boy named Miles Callisto, his smart sister Loretta who codes and mother Phoebe who drives the family spaceship. Loretta uses computer code to solve problems that the family encounters during their adventures in space.
The character is inspired by female NASA astronaut Yvonne D. Cagle. The show can help get girls interested in the sciences at an early age.
“We want all kids to get interested in science, but we really felt that it was important for girls in particular to see strong female characters,” Sascha Paladino, the show’s creator, was quoted as saying.
According to a 2014 study by Google, media can play a huge factor in girls’ decisions to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and math.
“We want to really inspire young kids to think about being makers of technology and not just consumers of technology,” noted Julie Ann Crommett who leads Google’s effort to educate the media on computer science.
Google’s research showed a direct link between the scarcity of women in science featured in the media and the low rate of girls pursuing science, technology, engineering and math careers.
The percentage of women entering into computer science studies declined from 37 percent in 1984 to 18 percent globally in 2009.