"We are making a culture change": Exhibit hopes to inspire young girls to join the STEM field
A new exhibit in Washington, D.C., is celebrating women who have made an impact in fields collectively known as STEM — science, technology, engineering and math.
"#IfThenSheCan – The Exhibit" features 120 3D-printed statues of women in science on the National Mall to inspire young girls to go into a field that, right now, is only 27% female.
Myria Perez, a fossil preparer at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, told CBS News that there is still a stigma that women shouldn't be in STEM.
"We are making a culture change," said Perez. "A culture shift here to show that women do belong in STEM."
Aerospace engineer Sydney Hamilton also has her own statue.
"I hope that it sends a message that if she can see it, then she can be it," Hamilton said, when asked what she hoped would come out of the exhibit. "I hope they see this and they see themselves in at least one of these statues."
Hamilton, like Perez, was overwhelmed by the honor.
"It is amazing to see that I can be the representation that I didn't have growing up. It's amazing to see that when there were a world that told me 'no,' that I could be here," she said.
The exhibit will be on view at multiple Smithsonian museums until March 27.
