A New Magazine Hopes to Inspire the Next Generation of Female Scientists

Science isn’t just for boys. In fact, scientists have been getting their brains around a study that said 15-year-old girls outperform their male counterparts around the world in science — except in the U.S., U.K. and Canada.

There’s a new magazine called Smore – aimed towards teenage girls to help with expanding their science knowledge worldwide. Founder and editor Dr. Sarita Menon – a scientist herself with a PhD in cancer biology  — set out to create a comic-style magazine “that explores our world and inspires girls to be their brilliant best,” as noted in the Kickstarter campaign.

It is also described as, “a new kind of science magazine created so that curious girls everywhere continue to stay interested in science and grow up to be confident, brilliant and successful women in science and technology.”

In the video “smart, curious girls” are tinkering with electronics and playing with scientific objects rather than Barbie dolls.

“When I look at young girls’ magazines today all I see are celebrities and models on the cover with hair and make-up tips which is great,” she said in the video. “But I wonder, why isn’t the Google Science Fair winner on the cover? Why aren’t we showing our young girls being science stars.”

In fact Smore — a blend of the words “science” and “more” — promises that teen scientists and inventors will be cover models.

What will be in Smore Magazine?

The magazine has a small team of writers who are science experts in fields like biology, human behavior, earth science and astronomy. The illustrator, Olga Gonina, makes the stories more engaging with graphic designs and 2D animation for their digital version.

Young girls can read about science and the latest cutting edge research. In addition, they can also learn how to turn their science ideas into action with ‘Smore Study’— and read about their peers who are aspiring science leaders in ‘Science Diva.’

For those teen girls who still love to gossip, there’s the ‘Smore Club’ where they can share ideas and geek out with each other. The section “Science Like a Girl” focuses on women in science as role models to these teens who are interested in the field.

The need for a magazine like this is evident with 481 backers having already pledged $26,299 on Kickstarter — well beyond their projected goal of $7,500. Six issues a year debut in July and August — with everything you’ve ever wanted to know about mushrooms appearing in Issue 1.

From interesting stories behind famous scientists of the past — to hot new scientific breakthroughs — the magazine market for teen girls just got smarter.