buddingstem

One of the biggest challenges in the world of science and technology is gender diversity — boosting the number of women going into technical fields. So what about starting with the clothes available to young girls?

Malorie Catchpole and Jennifer Muhm of buddingSTEM.
Malorie Catchpole and Jennifer Muhm of buddingSTEM in the KIRO Radio studios. (Erynn Rose Photo)

That’s the approach being taken by Jennifer Muhm and Malorie Catchpole, the creators of buddingSTEM, a project that’s creating a new line of clothes for girls, inspired by science. Muhm and Catchpole, both moms of young girls, join us this week on the GeekWire radio show to explain the origins of the project, and talk about where they’re headed next.

“There’s nothing gender specific about space. There’s nothing gender-specific about dinosaurs,” Catchpole says. “When little girls see that dinosaurs are only on boys clothing, they think that dinosaurs are only for boys.”

She adds, “Space is not for boys. Space is for everybody.”

Their long-term goal is to make buddingSTEM into a broader brand, potentially expanding into areas beyond clothes, like bedding and backpacks.

“It’s such a huge gap in the market right now,” Muhm says.

They’ve struck a nerve: The buddingSTEM Kickstarter raised mroe than $70,000 — easily exceeding the $45,000 goal. Based on their work with buddingSTEM, Muhm and Catchpole are finalists for Geek of the Year in the 2015 GeekWire Awards.

The conversation begins in the second segment, at 11:00 in the audio player below. Download the MP3 here.

The show starts with our weekly news roundup, covering topics including Google’s Project Fi wireless service, and the Apple Watch launch.

Sitting in as a special guest host this week is Molly Brown, GeekWire’s Geek Life beat reporter. In this extended podcast version of the show, we discuss some of her recent stories — including William Shatner’s crazy proposal to pipe water from Seattle to address the drought in California.

App of the Week: The Hunt for iOS and Android

Also listen for the answer to last week’s GeekWire Trivia Challenge. Congrats to our randomly chosen winner, Jonah Kirangi, who gets a pair of tickets to the upcoming GeekWire Awards.

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