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Last weekend, Google joined forces with the Paley Center for “Cracking the Code: Diversity, Hollywood & STEM.” Hosted at Google LA, the event welcomed young students to discuss STEM programs and how media entertainment portrays not just engineers, programmers and scientists but also how diversified those fields are.

The event opened with a keynote conversation between BuzzFeed’s Doree Shafrir and Danica McKellar, actor and author of the books “Math Doesn’t Suck,” “Kiss My Math,” “Hot X: Algebra Exposed” and “Girls Get Curves: Geometry Takes Shape.” As a mathematician and education advocate, McKellar spoke of how important it is that young people don’t think they’re options are limited by what they see on TV. She explained how when she was young, she felt like she wasn’t the right kind of person to be a mathematician. Doree Shafrir brought up how she and others often considered that people interested in science and math had a certain look and personality. One example was the character Velma from Scooby-Doo.

VENICE, CA - OCTOBER 03: (L-R) Kristen Rutherford, Amanda Leighton, Yara Shahidi, Sascha Paladino and Omari Christian speak onstage during The Paley Center For Media & Google present "Cracking the Code: Diversity, Hollywood & STEM" at Google Headquarters on October 3, 2015 in Venice, California. (Photo by Mike Windle/Getty Images for Google)

VENICE, CA – OCTOBER 03: (L-R) Kristen Rutherford, Amanda Leighton, Yara Shahidi, Sascha Paladino and Omari Christian speak onstage during The Paley Center For Media & Google present “Cracking the Code: Diversity, Hollywood & STEM” at Google Headquarters on October 3, 2015 in Venice, California. (Photo by Mike Windle/Getty Images for Google)

“Exactly,” McKellar agreed, adding that it was easy to see how such characters were portrayed and wind up asking yourself, “Are you Daphne or Velma? You have to pick.” McKellar added that, of course, this is a limited view and that women and people of color in particular have suffered from not seeing themselves portrayed more widely and realistically onscreen, whether it’s in drama, fantasy or comedy.

As for why studios often still use limiting stereotypes and tropes, McKellar explained, “When you’re telling a story onscreen, you want to show a lot without telling a lot… You want people to know it’s a scientist, have them look like a stereotypical scientist… There is just so much more diversity in the real world and in STEM than there is on the screen… People have to see that. Girls have to see that. It’s like Geena Davis said, if you see it, you can be it.”

Along those lines, Danica McKellar was proud to be part of the new Netflix original mini-series Project MC2, featuring a team of teenage girls protecting the world. McKellar described it as, “basically Charlie’s Angels for teenage girls… They work under this organization called Innovate. And I’m the head of Innovate, my character’s name is the Quail… These girls use math and science to solve the crimes… Girls have to see that… Just know that you can do it, not be afraid of math, afraid of numbers.”

Following McKellar’s conversation, the event gave way to a panel discussion that included Sascha Paladino (creator of Miles from Tomorrowland), Google engineer Omari Christian, and actors Yara Shahidi (Black-ish) and Amanda Leighton (The Fosters, Powerpuff Girls).

Yara Shahidi spoke of her own enthusiastic interest in education and that this was inspired and helped by parents and teachers who catered to her interests rather than tell her she was going past her level. She spoke of the frustration of having certain teachers and educators tell her not to concern herself with learning outside of the class.

Amanda Leighton plays “Emma” on The Fosters, who has a passion for math. She proudly spoke about how an upcoming episode features Emma and a friend using coding skills to make light-up suits for a dance competition, combining computer science with this new interest. As Leighton explained, such stories are at the heart of STEM. “You don’t have to live inside a box, you can push boundaries.”

Omari Christian explained that his career in engineering began with his interest in video games. He suggested to the students, “Keep using computers. There are lots of gateways, lots of different fields… Expose yourself to all that stuff.”Regarding media portrayals, Christian added, “I didn’t see a lot of programmers on TV. My parents both instilled in me that I could do anything that I want… I think all of you should take that to heart too… You see Neil DeGrasse Tyson and he’s talking about the cosmos and like yeah, this is actually a positive black role model I’m seeing on TV… But also I think it’s important to have that media presence for other people who may not even be aware of stereotypes they have engendered in their head.”

Sascha Paladino said that this thinking was at the heart of Miles from Tomorrowland, which features a multiracial family in outer space and two parents who are both intelligent and creative problem solvers. “They work for the Tomorrowland Transit Authority. And their mission is to connect the universe, both physically by connecting planets, creating like a superhighway in outer space, and also socially by making connections between different alien cultures. A big theme of the show is family.”

Paladino added, “The arts are a way into science as well… We work with NASA scientists, we work with astronauts, we get to talk to them about their experiences, we get to incorporate these amazing science facts into our show.”

After a snack break, the assembled students broke off into teams to work with writer mentors from Empire, Pretty Little Liars, Jane the Virgin and Teen Wolf. Each team then brainstormed episode pitches that involved STEM and diversity, then discussed these ideas with the larger group. All in all, it was an enthusiastic and worthwhile event. Here’s hoping we see more of these in the future.

Alan Kistler (@SizzlerKistler) is an actor, consulting geek and author of the New York Times Best Seller Doctor Who: A History. He is also the host and creator of the podcast Crazy Sexy Geeks.

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Alan Kistler