Cards Against Humanity’s new science pack will fund a scholarship for women in STEM
It might be ‘a party game for horrible people’, but the team behind Cards Against Humanity is actually pretty nice. They’ve just released a new science-themed expansion pack, and the profits will go to the Science Ambassador Scholarship, a new initiative to encourage more women into STEM careers.
Women who are picked will get full funding for an undergraduate degree in science, technology, engineering or maths – and given the cost of uni in the U.S, that’s a pretty significant investment.
Scholarship applications will be vetted by a team of over 40 female scientists including representatives from NASA, Harvard Medical School, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Anyone who identifies as a woman is welcome to apply. I’m guessing it’s for U.S citizens only, but there’s no harm in finding out more – you can sign up for updates via the website if you’re interested. It will open to applications next year.
Board member Veronica Berns, PhD says, ‘So often girls are told in both overt and subtle ways that they aren’t able to be good at math and science. With this scholarship, I’m excited to get to tell a passionate girl out there, “Yes! What you are doing and dreaming is really great, and here’s some help to get you where you want to go.”’
In the past, Cards Against Humanity’s sold special edition packs to raise money for organisations including the Wikimedia Foundation and Donors Choose, which pays for projects in underfunded schools.
The science expansion was co-authored by Zach Weinersmith, author/ illustrator of the Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal webcomic, and astronomer and writer Phil Plait, and has the potential to change the gender balance in STEM for the better. That being the case, though, it’s a bit of a shame a woman wasn’t involved in its creation – you’re not telling me there aren’t plenty of funny lady geeks out there.
The pack costs £8 from the Cards Against Humanity store, and it’s already raised $220,692 (£148,700.85).
