Communications of the ACM
Google, Nasa Work Together on Disney Show to Inspire Girls Into Sciences
Disney Junior asked for help burying stereotypes about science and programmers from the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration and Google.
Credit: Disney Junior
When it was developing a new series about a family of space adventurers, Disney Junior wanted the show to help bury common media stereotypes about science and programmers, so it turned to the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and Google for advice.
A 2014 report by Google found a paucity of media portrayals of women in science has contributed to the low rate of girls pursuing science, technology, engineering, and math careers. Disney Junior visited Google headquarters in Silicon Valley and NASA's Southern California base to speak with technology and space experts about how to authentically portray the Callisto family in its new series, "Miles from Tomorrowland."
NASA helped Disney develop the character of Phoebe, the mother and captain of the spaceship, including basing her design on astronaut Yvonne D. Cagle. At Google, the show's creator, Sascha Paladino, met with several female engineers to hone the depiction of Loretta, the main character's sister, who uses programming to solve problems. The Google engineers not only helped influence the Loretta character, but the show's depiction of computer code, helping the creators make it look more realistic.
Google is hosting a screening of the show today at its Washington, D.C., office, followed by a panel discussion including Paladino, Disney executives, Cagle, and some of the Google engineers that consulted on the show.
From The Washington Post
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