Make-believe doesn't usually have a place in laboratory settings, but research just published in Psychological Science suggests that girls may persist longer in science activities when they pretend to be successful female scientists. This kind of play-based intervention could help close the gender gap in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields by boosting girls' early engagement with science, according to Reut Shachnai (Yale University), Tamar Kushnir (Duke University), and Lin Bian (The University of Chicago).