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Feminism: Sex and gender discussions

Lack of girls in the Science Museum

12 replies

LadyBiscuit · 10/04/2010 20:46

There was that thread recently about the boy who wanted a dress and some interesting discussions around how perhaps our difficulty with cross-dressing is that we value women less in society.

On the other side of the coin, I went to the Science Museum today with my DC. I suddenly realised that in the Garden which is the area for 3-6 year olds and my DC were playing with a water installation thing, that there were no girls playing with it at all - there were about 15 children, all boys (I don't have any DDs). So I carried on looking at the numbers of girls vs boys as we went round the rest of the museum out of interest and girls were noticeably outnumbered, I would say as much as four or five to one. Obviously once children get older they have a greater say in what sort of activities they do with their children but under 6s are pretty much at the mercy of their parents.

I think it's really sad that it obviously doesn't occur to many people who only have DDs (the only girls I saw were with their brothers) that science is something they could/should be interested in. Surely starting young is critical to getting them interested in something?

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justallovertheplace · 10/04/2010 20:51

I think the girls to boys ratio is a bit of a red herring.
Maybe the science museum is just boring
NEVER seen this at the natural history museum though, and certainly when I was growing up, dinosaurs were considered a 'boy' thing (still are probably, from the selection of clothes available to ds I would say)

cocolepew · 10/04/2010 20:51

My DD brought home her school newsletter and there was a piece in it about the lack of girls doing science (in N.I) and a project designed to make it more interesting. I only skimmed it tbh because DD wants to be a scientist.

LadyBiscuit · 10/04/2010 20:57

Ah you see that's the thing, Natural History is okay for girls justallover. I did biology at school - no other sciences - because there was only one girl in my year doing chemistry and physics and she was really dorky

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tummytime · 10/04/2010 21:04

Maybe they're scared of having to brave the queues and chaos that is that science museum on a saturday in the school holidays .

I haven't taken DD to the science museum yet primarily because we don't live in London and it is a hell of a journey to get there. She does go regularly to our local natural history and science museum and loves it.

yama · 10/04/2010 21:07

We take my dd (4) to the Science Museum in Glasgow and I would say there is usually a 50/50 ratio of boys to girls.

She loves it. Mind you, she loves going anywhere.

Interesting observation.

ToccataAndFudge · 10/04/2010 21:08

Gosh there were loads of girls at the science museum when I went yesterday!

LadyBiscuit · 10/04/2010 21:11

It really wasn't that busy. (actually was surprisingly quiet!) I know that not everyone can get there and I'm glad that people do take their daughters to their local science museums but I am worried about the imbalance

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TheGashlycrumbTinies · 10/04/2010 21:13

We have taken DD's to the Science Museum since they were 2 and 4.5, they love it.

We usually go 2-3 times a year.

Never noticed the lack of girls though, probably too concerned wondering where my our 2 are!

taffetacat · 10/04/2010 21:14

I went to the Science Museum in the Feb half term with a couple of other mums - we had 3 boys and 3 girls between us. The queuing was horrendous.

I personally like the Science Museum for my DS as he ( like lots of boys ) likes manhandling the exhibits, having a go at stuff. DD is happy to look at stuff and ask questions about it, so a gallery for example would also suit her.

I guess the point I am making is that for my DS there aren't many cultural attractions where he can get physically involved, so the Science Museum would be a natural choice, whereas with my DD, there are more options as she doesn't have as great a need to be physically involved.

This doesn't mean I wouldn't take her to the Science Museum without DS, it just means that DS would be likely to visit it more often, IYSWIM.

notcitrus · 11/04/2010 22:10

I chaperoned friend's dd's birthday sleepover at the Science Museum last year and girls outnumbered the boys. About 2/3 the kids were cubs/brownies and I suspect a number of the Brown Owls consciously decided to take their packs of girls there.

Have to admit that I'd usually find the 'Space' section pretty boring but they made it great!

Hulababy · 11/04/2010 22:13

I have taken DD to the Science Museum in London a fair few times, and also to other science museums. Taking her to see Horrible Science at the theatre soon too, along with two other girls.

My 8y DD does like science though. Her best friend had a science party with lots of experiments, etc. last year and it was almost all girls and they loved it.

banned861 · 17/03/2013 11:22

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