Meet Luciana Vega – American Girl’s 2018 Girl of the Year

BabyCake and I are so excited about American Girl’s 2018 Girl of the Year, Luciana Vega!! Luciana’s character is a confident 11 year old girl and aspiring astronaut who dreams of being the first person to go to Mars. Luciana is of Chilean decent and she loves the idea of exploring new territories in outer space. Of course we are thrilled that Luciana’s character and story is STEM inspired! 

“We’re proud to introduce fans to American Girl’s 2018 Girl of the Year, Luciana Vega—a champion of STEM and a natural-born leader who puts her whole heart into making her dreams a reality,” says Katy Dickson, president of American Girl. “Luciana is a role model for today’s girls—empowering them to defy stereotypes, and embrace risks that will teach them about failure and success as they chart their own course in life—whatever the goal. For us, it’s all about building girls of strong character, and it’s why we’re continuing to encourage girls to lead change and embrace #charactercounts.”

Available now are the first two books in Luciana’s book series written by Eric Teagan and published by Scholastic. After Luciana wins a scholarship to Space Camp in Huntsville, Alabama, Luciana is excited about launching 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.  

American Girl always ensures the accuracy of their stories and characters, so they worked with a four member Advisory Board that were an integral part in the development of Luciana. 

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

Maureen O’Brien, Manager of Strategic Alliances at NASA

To engage girls and boys with Luciana’s message, American Girl—in partnerships with Scholastic, NASA, and Space Camp—has funded Blast Off to Discovery, an educational program to help third though fifth-grade students explore the wonder of space through Luciana-inspired content, including STEM-based lesson plans and classroom activities, videos, a game, and more. The program will be available on www.scholastic.com starting January 31, 2018. 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 valued at over $2,000.

Starting today, January 1st, here’s where you can find out more about Luciana:

• Luciana Retail Events: On January 1, American Girl stores nationwide are hosting Luciana’s Debut Event, where girls can celebrate the company’s first STEM-themed character with fun, interactive science demonstrations, a Moon Phase craft, galaxy-inspired treats, and a free Luciana doll tee to take home. For more details, visit com/retail.
• Luciana Online Play: Girls can visit americangirl.com/play/girl-of-the-year/luciana/ to read excerpts from the Luciana books and enjoy fun space-inspired activities.
• American Girl WorldApp: 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 com/meetluciana.

The Luciana collection is available on January 1, 2018, through American Girl’s catalogue; at americangirl.com; at all American Girl retail locations nationwide; and at American Girl specialty boutiques at select Indigo^™ and Chapters^™ in Canada. The Luciana books can also be purchased through retail and online booksellers, and select Luciana products will also be available at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center gift shop. To request a free catalogue, call 1-800-845-0005; to join the company’s loyalty program, AG Rewards, go to americangirl.com/REWARDS.

We can’t wait to add Luciana Vega to our collection! I even see a homeschool field trip to NASA in Huntsville, Alabama in our near future. 

Ashley