I have these figures up in my office. This page is meant to give a better summary of what these women have done for science and how they have represented women in times when women often went unnoticed or were disregarded.

Note: the images have all been taken from the Lego website and can be found here, along with the set itself.

“They worried that the men might rebel. They didn’t.”

Ms. Hamilton taught herself to write code after studying abstract math in graduate school. She joined a research lab where she found a love for programming and computers. In 1964, she applied to a position at NASA looking for software programmers to “send a man to the moon.” She got the job. Margaret recommended interventions that no one thought necessary and were disregarded. In later simulations those interventions ended up being required. Thus, she was put in charge of software. She coined the term “software engineering” which people thought over inflated her role until they realized the importance of the software–she legitimized the field with the title. Apollo 11’s successful landing was undoubtedly due to much of Margaret’s contributions.

Summarized from NASA, The Guardian, and The Smithsonian

“I was told from the beginning that women could not be scientists.”

Dr. Roman was interested in science from a young age; which led her to create and lead an astronomy club in middle school. She earned a BS in astronomy in 1946 and her doctorate in 1949. After years of experience in university teaching and conducting research, she was hired at NASA–but was undervalued and seen as an entry level hire. She spent 20 years winning grants, conducting experiments, and preparing for the build of the world's largest space telescope. Her work earned her the nickname the “Mother of Hubble.”

Summarized from NASA