Mighty Girls shined at this year's premiere science and engineering competition for middle school students!

When the winners were announced at this year's Broadcom MASTERS Competition, America's premiere science and engineering competition for middle school students, the stage looked a little different than previous years — for the first time ever, all of the top prize winners were girls! 14-year-old Alaina Gassler won the top award, the $25,000 Samueli Foundation Prize, while 14-year-olds Rachel Bergey, Sidor Clare, Alexis MacAvoy, and Lauren Ejiaga each took home $10,000 prizes. "With so many challenges in our world, Alaina and her fellow Broadcom MASTERS finalists make me optimistic," says Maya Ajmera, President and CEO of the Society for Science & the Public, which runs the competition, and Publisher of Science News. "I am proud to lead an organization that is inspiring so many young people, especially girls, to continue to innovate." Continue reading → Continue reading

"If we cannot treat our sexual assault victims right, especially if justice has been denied to them for so many years, we certainly want to be able to treat our current survivors properly."

In 2009, over 11,000 untested sexual assault evidence kits were found in a Detroit police storage warehouse during a routine tour, some dating back to 1984. After the discovery of the abandoned rape kits, Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy was determined to seek justice for the victims. She and her team started the long process of testing the kits, investigating the crimes, and prosecuting the perpetrators. Last month, after a decade of unrelenting effort, she announced that they had successfully tested the entire backlog! In the process, they identified 824 serial rapists and have won 197 convictions so far, with hundreds of investigations still underway. While Worthy is proud of the work she's done, she says it has revealed upsetting truths about how the justice system has long failed rape survivors, observing: "If we cannot treat our sexual assault victims right, especially if justice has been denied to them for so many years, we certainly want to be able to treat our current survivors properly." Continue reading → Continue reading

Dr. Katie Bouman led the creation of a new algorithm to produce the first-ever image of a black hole.

Scientist Katie Bouman has said that photographing a black hole is "equivalent to taking an image of a grapefruit on the moon, but with a radio telescope." Today, the MIT postdoctoral fellow shared a photo of herself "watching in disbelief as the first image I ever made of a black hole was in the process of being reconstructed." Bouman and her team released this first-ever image of a black hole to the public, which is the first direct visual evidence that black holes exist. Continue reading → Continue reading

Dr. Frances Arnold, who pioneered the field of "directed evolution," became the fifth woman in history to win the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

Dr. Frances Arnold has just been awarded the 2018 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for pioneering the field of "directed evolution"  —  becoming the first American woman in history and the fifth woman overall to be honored.  The method she developed of engineering enzymes that mimic the process of natural selection has created a revolutionary new way for scientists and engineers to design more environmentally-friendly industrial processes. It's now being used in laboratories around the world to develop enzymes that can replace toxic compounds in everything from medicines to biofuels to laundry detergents. “My entire career I have been concerned about the damage we are doing to the planet and each other,” she says. “Change is easier when there are good, economically viable alternatives to harmful habits.” Continue reading → Continue reading

13-year-old Lily has raised over $7,000 to send girls to school by selling handmade fabric lovebirds.

When 9-year-old Mighty Girl Lily Miller learned it would only take $5 to send a girl in Nepal to school for a month, she was determined to find a way to help. So Lily recruited her younger sister Maizy and her mother Terry to help her make fabric scrap lovebirds to sell and Lily’s Lovebirds was born! Five years later, sales of her lovebirds — which also make lovely holiday gifts — have allowed the now 13 year old to donate over $7,000 to help other girls like her go to school. “Girls that go to school educate their children to go to school which makes the world a better and more peaceful place,” Lily explains. “I hope that one day I will see more girl presidents and great leaders in the world, but it all starts with going to school.” Continue reading → Continue reading

A Mighty Girl's top picks of books, toys, and gear to inspire young astronomers -- and introduce them to the women who helped us understand the stars.

On August 21, people across North America will get the chance to witness a once-in-a-lifetime astronomical event: a solar eclipse! It's the first total eclipse in the continental US since 1979, and for central US states, the first total eclipse since 1918. Even for those not in the zone of totality, partial eclipses will be visible in many places. So it's no wonder that there is so much excitement brewing — and with it, a surge of interest in astronomy and all things space!

If the upcoming eclipse has your kids clamoring to learn more about astronomy, this is the perfect time to pursue their interest — and to share stories of the little-known women who have made enormous contributions to the field. In this blog post, we're providing a selection of books to talk about the eclipse itself and gear to view the eclipse safely,  as well as a variety of toys and science kits to support an interest in astronomy, and books about female astronomers throughout history. It's a great way to show kids of all ages that the sky doesn't have to be the limit! Continue reading → Continue reading

New biographies about Mighty Women for inspiration during Women's History Month and throughout the year!

On A Mighty Girl, we feature thousands of books for children and teens about smart, confident, and courageous girls and women, but we are also often asked for reading recommendations for adults about inspiring women of the past and present. To that end, in this blog post, we're sharing 55 of our favorite biographies for older teen and adult readers about Mighty Women that were published in 2016 and 2017.

Among these titles are insightful introductions to oft-neglected female scientists, gripping tales about heroism during wartime, and thoughtful reflections on the quest for women's rights. Since A Mighty Girl's website does not have a book section for adult readers, you won't find these recommendations on our site; however, we've included links below to Amazon so you can learn more or order individual titles.

So whether you're looking for a good book to delve into during Women's History Month or any time of year, these women's stories are sure to inspire!
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The best girl-empowering books from February 2017 for kids, teens, & adults.

With so many new books constantly being released, it can be challenging to stay up on all of the great new titles for you and your Mighty Girl! After all, we add dozens of new releases to A Mighty Girl's vast collection of girl-empowering books every month. To help make it easier for you to discover new favorites, we've showcased our top new releases from February 2017 in a new blog post. With 20 books for all ages, from young children through adults, there's something for everyone looking for a new book to dive into!
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A Mighty Girl's top picks of books for children and teens about real-life female scientists who changed the world!

"Young girls need to see role models in whatever career they may choose, just so they can picture themselves doing those jobs someday. You can't be what you can't see." — Sally Ride, First American Woman in Space

When someone mentions scientists, chances are good that the face that pops into mind is male: perhaps a picture of Albert Einstein or Neil DeGrasse Tyson, or maybe a more generic man in a lab coat. However, even when women were largely shut out of science, there were still groundbreaking women making discoveries, conducting experiments, and publishing research! And while school curricula and popular culture are slowly expanding to include women beyond a few notable favorites such as Marie Curie and Jane Goodall, many people — young and old alike — still often find themselves struggling to name even a handful of female scientists.

Fortunately, with the increasing availability of great biographies for children and teens, we can show our girls that women in science make contributions every day! And, of course, these titles are just as important to share with boys because all kids need to know that science is for girls! With that in mind, we've showcased our favorite biographies of female scientists for children and teens. From primatology to physics, the expanses of space to the vast floor of the ocean, these women made their mark and changed the way we see the world... just like the budding Mighty Girl scientists of today will one day! Continue reading → Continue reading

A Mighty Girl's top picks of girl-empowering new releases for early spring for children, teens, and adults.

With spring has come a great batch of new Mighty Girl books! From picture books and young adult literature to parenting guides and biographies for adult readers, there have many excellent girl-empowering new releases over the past few weeks. In our new blog post, we've showcased 25 of our favorite newly released Mighty Girl titles. From intriguing biographies — for both kids and adults — to thoughtful realistic fiction to some remarkable flights of fancy, there's something here to please readers of all ages! Continue reading → Continue reading