Did Two College Women Just Invent the Next Barbie?

Little girls and boys might be substituting more inspiring dolls for the traditional Barbie toys they’ve come to know.

Enter: Miss Possible

This new line of dolls, which are designed to inspire young girls with strong female role models, are the brainchild of University of Illinois engineering majors Janna Eaves and Supriya Hobbs. The two met as college freshmen and bonded over their desire to see more young women interested in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics).

They used crowdfunding website Indiegogo to raise the funds to bring their dream to to life (learn more about fundraising online here).

“What resonated with us is there aren’t enough strong female role models for girls to see,” explained Janna, in an interview with The News-Gazette.

“Boys see presidents, astronauts, CEOs- but girls are seeing more princesses and hypersexualized images. [These toys] don’t necessarily send a message of female empowerment or aspiring to higher career goals” she said.

Miss Possible’s first line of dolls will feature child-versions of three inspiring women: Nobel Prize-winning chemist and physicist Marie Curie, female pilot Bessie Coleman, and mathematician and computer programmer Ada Lovelace. The dolls will also include games, stories and exercises on an app that accompanies the dolls- allowing children who want to follow in the footsteps of these heroes to take their first steps.

To learn more about Miss Possible, check out this interview with Eaves and Hobbs below!