Meet Luciana Vega, American Girl’s 2018 Girl of the Year!
American Girl will be sending us a Luciana Vega, American Girl’s 2018 Girl of the Year doll for review.
What a way to close out 2017. American Girl fans rejoice because American Girl has officially announced their 2018 girl of the year and her name is Luciana Vega. Check everything about her story and some of the images American Girl released today and stay tuned for our full unboxing video coming soon. So without further delay, let’s Meet Luciana Vega, American Girl’s 2018 Girl of the Year!
Luciana Vega, American Girl’s 2018 Girl of the Year
Luciana Vega, 2018 Girl of the Year, comes with an out-of-this-world storyline about an 11-year-old who dreams of being the first person on Mars. American Girl worked with NASA, including a task force of advisors (scientists, astronauts), more on that below. Who helped ensure the accuracy and authenticity of Luciana’s world—from her story and products to a STEM-based educational program in partnership with Scholastic and Space Camp.
Luciana shows what it can mean to be a girl of strong character today, where creative thinking, collaboration, and STEM literacy provide opportunities for meaningful growth and development. Technology continues to revolutionize what we do and what we know, and Luciana is a character that can bring visibility and valuable lessons to girls at a time in their lives when they’re learning about their infinite potential to change the world.
Luciana’s World
Luciana’s world comes to life via a beautiful 18-inch Luciana™ doll, featuring warm brown eyes, medium skin, and dark brown hair with a distinctive purple streak to show off her creative side. Other STEM-inspired outfits, accessories, and products that reflect her Space Camp® experience include Luciana’s Flight Suit and Space Suit, her Maker Station, and a Mars Habitat loaded with science and research essentials for hours of pretend play.
And—for the first time—girls can further engage in Luciana’s world by downloading the American Girl app and scanning her catalogue pages and products to unlock exclusive content, including augmented reality, trailers and videos, space simulations, quizzes and challenges, and much more.
Additionally, Luciana’s story is chronicled in a chapter book series written by Erin Teagan and published by Scholastic. The first two books, available now, introduce readers to Luciana, a young girl of Chilean descent with a serious science streak, who loves the idea of exploring new territories in space.
After winning a scholarship to Space Camp in Huntsville, Alabama, Luciana is thrilled to launch her dream of landing on Mars. But as she ascends from Space Camp kid to youth astronaut trainee, she faces many challenges that test her competitive spirit and self-confidence, and she must find the courage to embrace the unknown with bravery, curiosity, and wonder.
The NASA Connection
Bringing this story to life is an all-star advisory board that includes: Dr. Ellen Stofan, former NASA Chief Scientist, Dr. Deborah Barnhart, CEO and Executive Director of the U.S. Space & Rocket Center, Maureen O’Brien, Manager of Strategic alliances at NASA, and Dr. Megan McArthur Behnken, NASA Astronaut.
Launch Events
To celebrate her launch of this new girl of the year, American Girl Doll retail stores are hosting Luciana debut events nationwide on January 1. The event features interactive science demonstrations, a Moon Phase craft, galaxy-inspired treats, and a free Luciana doll tee to take home. For more details, visit americangirl.com/retail.
Other Luciana-related initiatives being held throughout the year include the following:
- Luciana Online Play: Girls can visit play.americangirl.com/play/girl-of-the-year/luciana to read excerpts from the Luciana books and enjoy fun space-inspired activities.
- American Girl World™ App: Fans can step into the worlds of Luciana and their other favorite American Girl characters and experience their stories in a whole new way. The app is available to download later in January through the Apple App Store, Google Play, and Amazon Kindle.
- Luciana-Themed Space Camp: Girls and their families can train just like astronauts—including taking a tumble spin in the Multi-Axis Trainer and designing a robot—at a special Girl of the Year experience created in partnership with Space Camp starting in summer 2018. American Girl is also sponsoring 20 scholarships to attend Space Camp. To learn more, visit americangirl.com/meetluciana.