Maia Weinstock: Women of NASA LEGO Set, 2017
MIT News deputy editor Maia Weinstock with her "Women of NASA" LEGO set creation, 2017. The 'Women of NASA' set depicts (left to right): computer scientist Margaret Hamilton; mathematician Katherine Johnson, known for calculating and verifying trajectories for the Mercury and Apollo programs astronaut; astronaut Sally Ride; astronomer Nancy Grace Roman; and astronaut Mae Jemison, the first African-American woman in space.
In the summer of 2016, MIT News deputy editor Maia Weinstock submitted an entry to LEGO Ideas, a platform that allows people around the world to propose new ideas for LEGO concepts. Her proposed figurines honor five women who made historic contributions to the U.S. space program. Weinstock's "Women of NASA" entry received 10,000 votes from the public in 15 days and was selected to become an official LEGO set. Weinstock has created LEGOs for a number of celebrated scientists and engineers, and a number of MIT faculty members.