Males Only?

I saw a note today about how Celestron and the Boy Scouts have teamed up to encourage interest in astronomy among America’s youth. Apparently the company is donating products to the Boy Scouts so that the organization’s members can learn more about astronomy at their camps. This is a great start on getting kids more interested in astronomy, and I’m all for it.

Let’s see though. The last time I looked, the Boy Scouts were all boys. I wonder what the girls are going to get? I didn’t see anything about the other half of “America’s Youth” who seem to be forgotten and hidden in the gender-neutral story (here). I hope that perhaps Celestron hasn’t forgotten the girls, but simply is making other arrangements to help them out, too. I hope they will make a similar story available about how they want to help more girls get into the sciences. Otherwise, this will be yet another in a long line of slights against females, who are routinely shortchanged when it comes to science education and interest. The company and the Boy Scouts are patting themselves on the back for this wonderful gift. I wonder how many girls see this and wonder “Why don’t we get this cool stuff?”

To quote president of Celestron Joseph A. Lupica, Jr., “Teaming up with the BSA is a perfect fit for us, in that we both share the desire to grow the budding curiosity of today’s young people who will launch the space and science developments of tomorrow.”

Will girls also be part of that fine future as seen by Celestron? Only time and action will tell.