Luciana Vega was named American Girl’s 2018 Girl of the Year and is the latest American Girl character to join the collection.
Luciana is a creative, confident 11-year-old girl of Chilean descent who aspires to be an astronaut and the first person to go to Mars. She learns that being a good leader and team player on Earth is the first step on her mission.
The 18-inch Luciana doll features brown eyes, medium skin tone, and dark brown hair with a purple streak. Additional STEM-inspired outfits, accessories, and products reflect her Space Camp experience and include a Flight Suit and Space Suit, Maker Station, and a Mars Habitat with science and research essentials to encourage pretend play.
American Girl also introduced the American Girl World app where kids can scan Luciana’s catalogue pages and products to unlock exclusive content, including augmented reality, trailers, videos, space simulations, quizzes, and more.
Luciana’s chapter book series written by Erin Teagan and published by Scholastic is available now. The first two books introduce readers to Luciana after she wins a scholarship to Space Camp in Huntsville, Alabama. She is ready to launch her dream of landing on Mars, but soon faces challenges that force her to face the unknown with bravery and wonder.
American Girl worked with a four-member advisory board to ensure the accuracy during Luciana’s developmental stage: Dr. Ellen Stofan, former NASA chief scientist; Dr. Deborah Barnhart, CEO and executive director of the U.S. Space & Rocket Center; Dr. Megan McArthur Behnken, NASA astronaut; and Maureen O’Brien, manager of strategic alliances at NASA. American Girl editors and product designers also visited Space Camp and NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston to gain insight into a day in the life of a Space Camp trainee.
American Girl—in partnerships with Scholastic, NASA, and Space Camp—funded Blast Off to Discovery, an educational program to help third through fifth grade students explore space through Luciana-inspired content, including STEM-based lesson plans and classroom activities, videos, a game, and more. The program will be available on scholastic.com starting January 31. In addition, American Girl and Scholastic will host a Mission to Mars Sweepstakes where families can go on a series of weekly missions for a chance to win several prizes, including a grand prize trip to Space Camp.
Other initiatives will be held throughout the year, including Luciana retail events; online play with excerpts from the new book and space activities; American Girl World app; Luciana-themed Space Camp where kids can train like astronauts at a special Girl of the Year experience created in partnership with Space Camp beginning this summer; and 20 scholarships to attend Space Camp sponsored by American Girl. To learn more, visit americangirl.com/meetluciana.
