GoldieBlox
YouTuber Simone Giertz in "Toy Hackers."
Simone Giertz, a 25-year-old YouTube star, is the self-proclaimed "Queen of S---- Robots." Now she wants to teach aspiring engineers how to build functional - yet still fun - robots.
She's starring as the host of "Toy Hackers," a YouTube series aimed at teaching young girls how to build amazing toys from simple materials. The first minute-long episode premiered September 7 and shows viewers how to make a DIY boombox.
To produce the series, Giertz partnered with GoldieBlox, the STEM-for-girls toy company that created this viral Rube Goldberg machine ad.
"Toy Hackers" will include 17 episodes with new ones uploaded every Tuesday. Each 7-minute-or-less episode, will feature an army of toys that come to life and show viewers how to make DIY projects. It will also include appearances by young female YouTube stars.
GoldieBlox A screenshot from "Toy Hackers."
The larger goal is to encourage more young girls to get interested in science and technology, which has a huge gender gap. Only 20% of engineering students in college are women, and research indicates that girls start losing interest in these subjects as early as 8 years old.
"Until pretty recently in history, most professional fields have been dominated by boys," GoldieBlox's cofounder and VP of content, Beau Lewis, tells Business Insider. "When stereotypes are reinforced socially, it can contribute to gaps in confidence, career choice, and career advancement. This is why we are so excited about breaking down gender stereotypes and why we're starting so early."
Teaming up with Giertz for the show was an easy decision.
"She's fearless, relatable, and she laughs at failure," Lewis says. "These are wonderful qualities in an engineer, the kind that inspire young girls (and boys) to get involved in STEM."
Giertz makes videos of robots hilariously failing at their jobs, which have garnered over 10 million views on YouTube.