I wanted to express my gratitude for the new original live-action series Project Mc². As a science-loving mama to a girl, I think it is fantastic. Thank you. The show features four super smart and science-skilled girls who happen to also work for a top-secret spy organization and sends so many messages to our girls that they need to hear.

“Yes, it’s true, women do rule the world.” was my favorite line from the first episode, but I love that the show goes beyond just girl power. It shows our kids that smart, funny, and capable are not separate realms and that they all go together. I love that it lets my daughter know that femininity and science are not mutually exclusive and that it shows her that one can absolutely be both a fashionista and physicist.

Growing up, the fact that I was a girl never seemed at odds with my love of science. As much as the small Ohio town in which I lived seemed far from what you would call “progressive,” being my gender was never a reason to not love science and I was encouraged to do as much STEM work as I could. In fact, I felt that I was letting my high school chemistry teacher down when I announced I was going to law school. (I probably should have listened to her, for numerous reasons.)

Fast forward to when I signed my daughter up for a science class for preschoolers at the park district. We excitedly waited outside the classroom with a couple other moms and their sons.

“What is she doing here? And why is she wearing a dress?” one boy asked.

“Girls? In my science class?!” said another.

The moms said nothing. I waited for them to speak up, to say that of course girls can do science, to tell their sons that science class was not a boys club, to say something. They did not.

I tried to control my rage and said, “Everyone can like science.” The silence with which that statement was met was deafening.

It was then that I realized how incredibly lucky I had been that I had been raised to think that science was gender-blind and that I needed to find female science role models for my sweet, smart girl – stat. I’ve been working on that for a while now, and I had never been successful finding a show that was smart, funny, showed the way science impacts our daily lives, modeled different careers in science and made it clear that girls are awesome at science.

Project Mc² does all that.

Thanks, too, for casting Danica McKellar in the show as The Quail, a contact person for Innovae, an elite group of women operatives, who works with teenage spy, McKeyla. McKeyla teams up with super smart girls, Adrienne, Bryden, and Camryn, who use their science skills to help save a space launch. I was excited to see Danica McKellar, a star from my tween years, and I’m a fan of her four books for girls about math, including the great title “Kiss My Math.”)

I loved being able to tell my daughter that McKellar co-authoder of a groundbreaking mathematical physics theorem which bears her name, the Chayes-McKellar-Winn Theorem. She is a wonderful real-world example for my girl, and I loved the secret revealed about her character in the second episode.

My daughter also really likes cooking shows, so Adri, a culinary chemist, was her favorite character. Adri’s love of how science can be used to create amazing food is a great example of how the show organically weaves S.T.E.A.M. (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math) into the story line. My daughter is a girly girl, just like Adri, and I love that the show breaks the stereotype that being smart, funny, stylish and capable are mutually exclusive. When one of the characters says, “Next time we try to save the world, wear flats!” Adri responds indignantly, “I WOULD NEVER!”

Thanks you, too, for working on a website that features at-home STEAM experiments that are easy to do at home and give kids of all ages and genders a chance to have some hands-on fun with STEAM content while providing a tie in to the show.

The show has some fun merchandise as well, including lab kits as well as dolls of the characters that each include a fun STEAM experiment. I love that playing with dolls and learning about science go hand-in-hand and that girls can have fun doing both – I’m grateful to that they are not seen as mutually exclusive.

So, Netflix, well done. Thank you for empowering our girls, making science awesome and sending the message that smart is the new cool.

Sincerely,

Shannan (aka Megan’s Mom)
Check out the trailer for Project MC2:

I am a Netflix Stream Team Member and while I am not compensated, my family does enjoy a complimentary Netflix subscription and other items for my involvement. Amazon affiliate links included in this post.

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Fridays are big deal in our house. I know it’s not that way for everyone. When I called my parents and wished my dad a happy Friday, he paused for a beat and said, “Uh, thanks?” He then explained that in retirement, pretty much every day is Friday. For those us still making our way through the work and school week, though, Friday night is a celebration pretty much every single time.

So many families I know have a Friday night tradition, be it pizza night or movie night. I say, why not combine them for Friday pizza and movie night?

That’s our plan for tonight, but we’re putting a twist on the pizza part and making these Double Cheese and Pepperoni pizza nachos.

Pizza. Nachos.  Let that brilliant idea sink in. Yum, right? You can get the recipe here.

If that didn’t make your heart skip a beat like mine did and you’re feeling more traditional, the Food Network has 50 pizza ideas here to help you come up with a fun twist or stick to the classic if you’re a purist. And if you feel like letting your neighborhood pizza place provide you with a pie at the end of a long week, then go for it. Just remember to order on the early side to avoid the long Friday night wait times.

My family isn’t too picky about beverages, and usually water or milk will work, but I’m picky about the carpet in our family room. We break the rules for Friday movie night, but only when we’re using these fun mason jars with lids that tie into one of our favorite movies:

I found them at Target and they made us happy and keep the spills in check. The back says “It’s all fun and games until someone loses an eye.” I know, I should probably find it freaky, but it cracks me up. At 18 ounces, they’re big enough that we don’t have to pause the movie to fill up again.

With the food and drink set, we’ll enter into some high level negotiations, I mean, come together to calmly decide what movie we’d all enjoy on Netflix. It helps if we narrow down the field first rather than choosing from all movies from all time.

For bigger kids, these are all fun ones:

Littler movie goers will enjoy these fun options. I admit that The Muppet Movie is my favorite. It’s so fun to share movies I loved as a kid with my kid! I’m thinking that maybe we’ll follow that up with The Muppets Take Manhattan and pair it with pizza from the new New York-style place that recently opened near us.

And if you have teens, see above about sharing movies you loved at a certain age with your kids.  I can’t wait to share Ferris Bueller’s Day Off with my Chicago girl. That night will call for some fabulous Chicago deep dish pizza! Common Sense Media recommends it for ages 14 and up, so we have a little while to wait, but not too long.

On nights when it is just my husband and me, we’re still making our way through House of Cards. Frank Underwood isn’t exactly the most family-friendly guy, and the show is our fun adult escape. It is so, so good! I know we’re late to the party, but well, we didn’t have Netflix, and now that we do, we can’t figure out what took us so long. This Netflix original series alone is a reason to have it.

Hope that your Friday night is full of good food and fun viewing that lets you destress from the week while enjoying a movie or show with the people you love. I can’t think of a better way to kick off the weekend.

What are your favorite Friday night traditions and family movies?

Disclosure: I am a member of the  Nextflix Stream Team, and look forward to sharing monthly stories and suggestions about using Netflix streaming. I have received a year of Free Netflix Streaming and a Roku.  All opinions in this post are my own.

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