NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Getting more women careers in science, engineering, technology and math means leading by example. Austin Peay State University is busy elevating women. The university sent two American Girl dolls to the stratosphere to celebrate women in STEM.
"We'd like to see the curvature of the earth. We want to get a picture with the dolls in space with a little APSU flags and see the curvature behind them," said Megan McCracken, a Senior at Austin Peay.
McCracken is pursuing a degree in physics and has her Masters in genetics.
"I ended up finding a APSU's Physics Department. Everyone was very encouraging wanted to help me learn." she said.
McCracken and her fellow students spent the morning attaching a unique payload to a high-altitude balloon. Two dolls, dressed like astronauts.
"Women can do whatever they want in mathematics sciences and engineering," she said.
The dolls joined two GoPros and went on the ride of their lives, reaching nearly 94-thousand feet and showing off the curvature of the earth.
McCracken says she hopes their adventure inspires other women to aim high.
The balloon popped and returned back to earth. The balloon has a GPS tracker on it and was recovered near Edmonton, Kentucky.
