Yes! Lego green-lights female-scientist minifig set
It took awhile, but Lego has finally approved a set of three female scientist minifigures, along with their laboratory gear, to become an official product.
For the fall of 2013, an interesting Lego Cuusoo (now Lego Ideas) set earned 10,000 crowdsourced votes from the Lego builder community. The set included three women scientists: an astronomer, a paleontologist, and a chemist. It raised enough support to send it into Lego's official review process with the potential to become a real toy.
The fall review period came and went. Lego was mum about the success or failure of the set. Now, after the winter 2014 review period, the set has reemerged, triumphant. It will be made and kids everywhere will have a chance to interact with some smart female Lego role models, a healthy step toward some much-needed balance in Lego's boy-oriented minifig lineup.
The official announcement video works up to the unveiling like a Lego version of the Academy Awards. Host Frederikke Hoff from Lego Ideas says, "It's cool. It's stylish, and, honestly, who doesn't like dinosaurs?" The set will get a new name, changing from the bland "Female Minifigure Set" to the slightly more interesting "Research Institute." It is currently being honed for production by Lego.
This move comes after Lego said it wanted to appeal more to girls. It will give Lego's first and only female scientist minifig some company. I'm sure the flask-wielding Professor C. Bodin will happily welcome her new colleagues.
It will be interesting to see what the new set looks like when it hits stores. Hopefully, the dino bones, microscope, and telescope will all make it through the final design process. It should be out in August of this year, so we don't have too long to wait.
Perhaps this will be just the beginning of a larger trend in Lego sets. Lego Ideas user Alatariel, the creator of the female scientist set, has plenty of ideas for how the concept could be expanded. The project page includes examples of female minifigs including a falconer, a geologist, a roboticist, and a mechanic. I, for one, would like to collect them all.
