Barbie exhibit shows Indianapolis girls they can be anything

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis is teaming up with one of the world’s most famous and powerful women — Barbie! A new Barbie exhibit is going to help little girls find their dream jobs.

The exhibit is called “Barbie You Can Be Anything: The Experience.” Girls can see Barbie in some of the jobs she’s held over the last 60 years and figure out if that’s something they want to pursue.

Barbie has held over 200 jobs in her lifetime, so kids will have them narrowed down after a personality quiz that categorizes them as adventurous, leaders, creatives, nurturers, or problem solvers. Once the girls figure out what jobs they’d be best in, they can use interactive exhibits to try out different jobs in those categories.

Museum officials say it’s important for little girls to realize just how many opportunities are out there. They want girls to know they have the potential to do anything and that their race or gender shouldn’t stop them from dreaming big. The exhibit was created with the same mentality behind the creation of Barbie.

“My whole philosophy of Barbie was that through the doll, the little girl could be anything she wanted to be,” Barbie creator Ruth Handler once said. “Barbie always represented the fact that a woman has choices.”

If Barbie is a little too fictional for some girls to relate to, the exhibit is also filled with the stories of powerful women in real life. Inspiring women like Ella Fitzgerald, Florence Nightingale, Katherine Johnson and Laurie Hernandez are on display for girls to see the struggles and backgrounds that led them to success.

The exhibit opens to the public for free with admission on Aug. 1 and will be open until Spring 2021. Visitors age two and older are required to wear a face mask and advance tickets are required due to COVID-19.