Disney Junior’s Miles From Tomorrowland is a great show that is teaching children to dream big and not let anything limit your possibilities. I Watched My 1st #MilesFromTomorrowland w/an Astronaut at the #MilesEvent about six weeks ago at GOOGLE headquarters. I had never seen the animated show prior and I thought it was great.
The animated show, Miles From Tomorrowland, follows a young adventurer, Miles Callisto, and his family on an outer space mission as they explore new worlds and futuristic journeys that are designed to fuel the interest children have of space.
Prior to the viewing, I had the amazing opportunity to interact with the creative minds behind Miles from Tomorrowland.
Since moving to the foothills of Virginia last year, we’ve learned a lot about STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math education). Li’l Man is part of a LEGO First League Robotics team (they are going to State Finals this weekend) and Miss M is involved in STEM projects at her middle school.
Miles from Tomorrowland is all about STEM and I love the older sister, Loretta, who is smart and eager to learn. She isn’t the typical girl we see in many shows…she is creative, an inventor and she codes. Watch the clip below to see how Loretta takes her passion for Science and shares it with her family.
Miles from Tomorrowland was created by Sascha Paladino who said, “I’d read a lot about the efforts to get girls to code. In our show, the brother is creative while the sister is scientific, and I thought if we can help boost the numbers of girls who think science is cool that would be great.”
The idea has grown into something amazing and has input from some high-profile STEM role models. At Google, I had such an incredible time engaging with this panel of amazing women (and Sascha). The brilliant women behind Miles from Tomorrowland are:
- Isis Anchalee (the mind behind the #ILookLikeAnEngineer trend)
- Dr. Yvonne Cagle (NASA Astronaut)
- Angela Navarro (Google Engineer)
- Di Ikemiyashiro (Disney Junior Executive)
These four, along with Sascha, spotlight the possibility for all, including women, in the STEM fields.
Listening to the stories behind these brilliant women brought me to tears. They are the strength and beauty I see in my daughters.
Isis Anchalee has a truly inspiring story. I’m sure your first impression of her, is much like mine was, she is a very pretty woman. She has a fashion sense, I mean just look at those jeans and her shoes! She is also a Platform Engineer for a Florida-based software company. Earlier this year, she and three other employees were selected to be in the campaign, with each ad including a picture and a quote about working at the company.
The photo hit social media and folks stereotyped her stating she was “too attractive” to be an engineer.
Being a strong woman, Anchalee didn’t back down. Instead, she posted a picture of her holding a sign emblazoned with the hashtag #ILookLikeAnEngineer and invited people to use it to “spread the word and help us redefine ‘what an engineer should look like.'”
She has a passion for science and technology. She believes more women should pursue STEM careers. I love her strength and that she doesn’t let criticism hold her down, she seems to use it to fuel goodness.
Isis Anchalee is the inspiration for Loretta in Miles from Tomorrowland.
One of my most favorite Miles from Tomorrowland panelists was Dr. Yvonne Cagle. She is an American NASA astronaut, class of 1996.
She has a Bachelors in biochemistry from San Francisco State University in 1981 and a doctorate of medicine from the University of Washington in 1985. I sat next to her during dinner and was so inspired. She has worked with NASA to develop and designed the medical protocols and conducted the screenings for select NASA remote duty operations. She is next in line to head to space–and when she does she will be only the second African-American woman to have gone to space.
Angela Navarro is a Software Engineer with Google. Her resume is an impressive collection of social media: G+, Google Hangouts, and YouTube. In high school, she was a cheerleader. She is a graduate of UCLA and has worked for some brands we all recognize, including Facebook. Navarro has helped Disney and ABC collaborate on The Fosters. “When I go into meetings at work, I’m not surrounded just by nerdy white male engineers,” she says. “There are so many awesome jobs to be had in this field, and there’s no reason women shouldn’t be taking many of them.”
For me, these are the women I want my daughters to have in front of them. They are breaking the stereotypes, making it possible for my girls to follow in their grandfather’s footsteps and become an engineer–or code.
Fun Fact: By 2020, there will be a million more computer jobs than students with that degree, according toCode.org.
Be sure to follow along on the amazing adventures with Miles From Tomorrowland and Disney Junior. Don’t forget to tune in this Friday as we watch Loretta use her love of coding to help discover a hidden planet.
Disclosure: I was provided with an all-expense paid trip as part of a press Junket with Disney Junior to cover this and all Miles From Tomorrowland media during the event.