Scientists can be sparkly, and Rita J. King, a scientist who co-directs Science House in Manhattan, is out to prove it.

King is a futurist, which means she analyzes data and makes projections. In her LinkedIn bio, King explains, "I work with teams and organizations to help them take ideas from mind to market, and individual leaders to help them navigate an increasingly chaotic world."

In a tweet earlier this month, King shared photos of herself in a sparkly golden dress, giving a talk at NASA.

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"I came across this gown and remembered the little girls who sent me a letter and asked me to wear something sparkly... so they could believe that scientists could also be sparkly," King wrote in the post.

King's Twitter followers were quick to praise her for showing young girls the best of both worlds.

"My daughter is obsessed with all things sparkly, and she also likes to use tools and tinker," wrote one Twitter user. "I love that she can see women like you!"

"Yes. You have inspired me to take my tiara to work and wear it while Im grant writing!" wrote another.

King made time to respond to her followers' comments, with heart emojis and heartfelt words.

And, in one reply, she said that while she won't always dress in sparkles, she was glad to do it this once.

"I bought it for that talk and thats the only time Ive ever worn it," she wrote.

"I hope you find occasion to wear it again," the follower responded. "It, like you, is born to shine."

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Terri Peters is a writer and editor for TODAY.com and editor of the TODAY Parenting Team. She lives in a small beach town on the Atlantic coast of Florida with her husband and two kids. When she isn't writing, Terri can be found feeding her backyard flock of chickens or exploring Florida's theme parks and beaches with her family.

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Scientist Rita J. King wears sparkly dress to NASA talk - TODAY