Smithsonian Unveils 120 Statues Inspired By Real Women Trailblazing In STEM
Image via If/Then
Women are excelling in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields, and they’re finally being seen—both literally and figuratively.
For Women’s History Month, the Smithsonian has presented 120 life-size, 3D-printed statues of real figures who are shaping the future in their unique, innovative ways as part of an exhibition called If/Then She Can. The grand unveiling at the Smithsonian Gardens in Washington, DC marks “the largest collection of statues of women ever assembled,” says the institution.
The gamut of achievements made by these role models spans industries—from wildlife conservation and discovering new galaxies to establishing YouTube and finding treatments for cancer, the Smithsonian details.
Image via Smithsonian Institution
They include Jessica Esquivel, who is among the only 150 Black women in the USA with a doctorate in physics; and Karina Popovich, a college student who 3D-printed more than 82,000 units of personal protective equipment for frontline workers at the advent of the pandemic.
To “meet” these remarkable women beyond face value, visitors can scan the QR code attached to each statue to find out more about her.
The sculptures were co-created with Lyda Hill Philanthropies in hopes to encourage the next generation of bright female minds to get into STEM fields.
“When our families and our kids are walking around looking at the people that are held up as role models, they’re not seeing anyone that looks like them, and we knew we wanted to fix that problem,” the nonprofit’s CEO Nicole Small explained to TODAY.
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For the uninitiated, “IF/THEN” is a fundamental programming statement used to test if an expression is true or false. Small says the project is named after the structure to prove that young girls can one day change the future through their dream STEM roles too.
“We are calling this exhibit the ‘If/Then She Can’ exhibit because we know that if we show little girls all these amazing women doing all this amazing work in this world that each of them will know that they too can grow up and they too can change the world,” Small added.
Bright orange was chosen as a unifying skin tone for all the figures so as to make the women “look like everybody and nobody,” Ellen Stofan, the Smithsonian’s undersecretary for science and research, described to WTOP News. Appearance should not be a deterrent in following the women’s footsteps.
“Because these are diverse women, they’re from all different backgrounds [and] they have every skin tone under the sun,” Stofan elaborated.
In addition to the Smithsonian Gardens, the statues will be displayed at participating Smithsonian museums through March 27.
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