On Jan. 1, American Girl introduced this year’s Girl of the Year: Luciana Vega. My girls and I are really excited about this year’s doll, as all of us love NASA and learning about outer space. American Girl’s purpose behind this new character is really important. 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. The message comes across is a very relatable way in the books and I am thrilled that my girls have been reading them and playing with this doll.
Disclosure: We were not compensated for this post. We did receive items for the purpose of review. All opinions are our own.
The story of Luciana Vega
The story of Luciana Vega is one of a 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, and more 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. Once you see the products up close, you can see such an attention to detail and authenticity. It’s really so cool!
Luciana Vega: American Girl’s 2018 Girl of the Year
My girls are fascinated by space and NASA. For years we’ve had this dress up space suit and it’s one of the most worn outfits in our house. They were beyond thrilled that Luciana has a space suit – even more “real” than theirs.
When I was about 10 years old I really wanted to go to space camp. My parents told me it cost a lot of money and I’d have to save up. I tried saving, but I think I moved onto a new interest before I saved up enough. I love that in Luciana’s story, she gets a chance to go to space camp because she wins an essay contest and she discusses how long and hard she worked to get the camp spot. Now my girls are trying to figure out how they can get to space camp this summer! For two other posts on why I choose American Girl dolls for my girls, visit this post or this one.
Since they started reading Luciana’s story and playing with the doll and accessories, we have been hearing non stop talk of NASA and science, which is pretty darn exciting for a mom of two little girls!
Now for the American Girl Doll Giveaway
We are so excited to give away a Luciana Vega doll. You can enter the giveaway using the Rafflecopter below. When I told my girls that we’d get to send a Luciana Vega doll to one lucky giveaway winner, they asked “how to they enter to win?”. I asked them how THEY thought they should enter and they decided that girls should share a science project or something they built. SO use the Rafflecopter but note that there’s a special bonus entry worth extra points to “share a science experiment or something you built” on Instagram using #thechirpingmomsscience and tag us @thechirpingmoms. If you feel more comfortable emailing an entry of a science/building photo, send it to: courtney @ thechirpingmoms . com Good luck!
As a stem certified educator, I absolutely love the link to stem education!
I love her realistic look!
She dreams of being the first person on Mars. You have to admire an 11 year old who dreams big like that!
I love that she wants to be an astronaut!
My favourite thing about her is her outfit and the colour of her hair.
I love that she wants to be an astronaut! My daughter loves everything space related and is super interested in science!! She thinks this doll is so cool!
I am a fan of the astronaut career!
I love that she has an educational interest and hobby!!
I love that she is very educational and inspirational for girls! Love the cute maker station which is my favorite piece.
My daughter was so excited that a doll like Luciana was released.
That she wants to be an astronaut.
I love the astronaut goal. My grand daughter first costume for Halloween was just like hers.
the space suit is amazing!
American girl, space and science Luna is just as cool as Isabella and Leah.
I love that she’s unique and intelligent
Luciana is just the sweetest. I love her purple stripe! I’d give her to my daughter.
That she stands for something. Thanks
The dolls are all beautiful! I
I love that they are sending the message that girls can be Astronauts as well
Love the uniqueness
What a great message this doll sends to little girls everywhere!
I love that all the American Girl dolls have books and this next generarion is even more inspirational with their stories. A doll that’s an astronaut and has cool hair is especially cool!
I love the space suit!!
I love that she wants to be an astronaut, you don’t hear about to many girls wanting to go to space!
Super excited about this years girl of the year. My daughter loves all things space and is looking forward to having a doll that has the same interests. ❤️
I think its great she wants to go to Space Camp and be an astronaut! Very exciting stuff for an 11 year old.
What a great giveaway. I love that Luciana is interested in space exploration. My daughter loves all things related to space and I can’t wait to read her books together
That a girl can become anything she wants!
Besides wanting to be a woman in space it has to be her hair!!
I am SO excited about this post and giveaway. Thank you!
I really like her gorgeous olive skin tone. She looks super cute~!
My daughter is in love with Luciana! And so am I! Space rocks— and the purple streak rocks too!
I am most excited about her career choice!
she’s unique
We couldn’t be any more excited for this doll! The last two AG Girls of the year were practically made for my daughter (and I’m sure many more). She was born in Hawaii and all my daughter has wanted was to be an astronaut.
Such a fantastic choice of career for this one!
I love that she has big dreams!
I love that she inspires young girls, especially Latinas seeking role models. My daughter loves science, math and coding. This new doll is everything my daughter loves.
My daughter has really started enjoying more STEM based activities. She has taken numerous coding classes and was over the moon to receive the Women of NASA space Lego set for Christmas! An American Girl Doll who shares a love for STEM and outer space is the perfect fit and an awesome example for my daughter and all young girls!
I love that this new doll shows girls that they can do anything a man can do 🙂 too many woman are scared to do what they really want due to discrimination and the belittling of woman’s capabilities. I am proud to see AG showing children they can be be what and who they want to be!!
I love that she empowers young girls to explore different career choice that are out of the norm.
I love that she is into science and wants to be an astronaut! How cool is that!?
She’s different from all other dolls!
I love that she wants to be an astronaut! So different than the usual.
She is so cute!
I love that they made a girl interested in science but didn’t make her the stereotypical “nerd” with glasses and books as accessories. She is still really cool and fashionable with her purple hair and holographic shoes.
I love the outer space exploration aspect. We love syfy and looking at the stars
Luciana has been the topic of most conversations since the catalog arrived. We love her name, her love of science and her awesome spacesuit.
My 5 year old has loved her STEM class at school! We’ll have to check out this doll and her stories!
I love that she dreams big!
I love that she resembles my granddaughter and she wants to be an astronaut.
I like the link to STEM education especially geared towards little girls.
We love that she is interested in STEM and that she has an awesome space suit!
I love that she wants to be an astronaut! So great for young girls to be interested in STEM learning!
I like the fact that she is into science and wants to be an astronaut
I like that she is into STEM related subjects and is planning for her future in astronomy.
I love that she promotes STEM because I’d love for my daughter to take interest in one of those fields!
I love that she has a science bent. I love the space and science theme as those are some of my own daughter’s favorite interests. I think she’s the most unique Girl of the Year I’ve seen in awhile.
My kids are obsessed wth space exploration and NASA and making things, so I love both the space integration and the science and maker aspect!
I love that she dreams big and wants to be an astronaut.
I LOVE that she is STEM based. And I love her name. My Daughters name is Lucy Ann. Thank you for the giveaway!
So happy to see Luciana as Girl of the Year! My daughter loves that she wants to be an astronaut.
I love that she is an Astronaut!
My elder daughter is 9yr old and she loves space. She dreams all the time about space so I can very well relate to Luciana and her dream. I like the toys which encourage STEM . American girl dolls are our favorite too so it’s a win win combo for us. Which will be a hit among girls.
I love all American Girls, so inspirational for young girls. I love that she encourages girls to do more and be more.
I like that Luciana encourages girls to learn about about space and that she is so authentic.
She’s an astronaut. She helps little girls to dream big.
I love her outfit and the purple streak in her hair.
I love that she is into space and STEM! She is so inspiring to reach for being the first human on Mars!
I love her purple stripe and that she wants to go to Space Camp.
Love her story & space costume! so different from the other AG dolls.
I love that she is am everyday girl like our own children and she is a great role model for young girls everywhere!
I love her story, my Granddaughter loves astrology and robots. She attends a STEM school. Offering a doll like this shows girls they can stem forward and do things out of this world!
I love that she wants to be an astronaut
Love that Luciana encourages girls about STEM. We visited the NASA in FL and we thought it was the coolest place! My kids still talk about it…would love to win for my daughter! Thanks for the chance!
My favorite thing about Luciana is that she has big dreams that are in science. My daughter is all about science, she even has an extensive rock collection and we do science experiments at home all the time. I like that Luciana reinforces the idea of girls in science while still appealing to my Violet’s other interests like dolls.
My favorite thing about Luciana is that she is an astronaut!!! I mean that is just the coolest! What a great inspiration for little girls and boys!
LOVE this doll and positive message for our girls! We saw it at the store in NY and both the doll and accessories are beautiful
My favorite thing about Luciana is her STEM theme. I have a science degree and homeschool my kids with a strong emphasis on STEM. Luciana’s space suit and Mars Habitat are so awesome! AG did an awesome job with her whole collection!
One work SCIENCE! My girls’ favorite subject- and two of my girls are extremely interested in space!
Love that she’s a STEM girl!!
She dreams big~
I love that she is an astronaut! Science is so important for these children and it’s important to support our children’s dreams.
I love the fact that American girl worked with Nasa to make sure her story was as authentic as possible and the fact that they worked with scholastic as well to make it stem accessible.
Showing how girls can have all different kinds of jobs!
My favorite things about Luciana are that she allows girls to dream big, fosters creativity, and supports diversity!
My 8 year old granddaughter and I visited our Maryland Science Center today. In fact we saw Journey Into Space at the IMAX. It was a great day!
I love Luciana’s STEM focus. My daughter wants to be a scientist and it’s toys like this that encourage her to remain interested in pursuing that path.
Verry fun dressed but highly smart little girl
I think what I really like the most about this doll is that she aspires to be something most girls might not think of. By seeing her and reading her story it would encourage them to be more, to think out of the box, to realize their potential. I love this one!
Her connection to Nasa and science, great motivator for my girls.
Oh I love how she is about Science and NASA and outerspace! This would be so educational for Kayla! I love how much they can learn…and dream of their future!
I like that she has big dreams.
That she dreams of going to the stars and that she represents girl power
I love that she has one of the top jobs you can get. Next there should be a president doll. 🙂
I like the story that comes along with her. I also love her dark hair.
I love that she loves science! My daughter is very interested in space – she loves reading about the planets and looking at the stars and moon. We built a viewer to view the solar eclipse this summer. During our last visit to the science centre, we spent a lot of time in the Planetarium. She was in heaven!
I love that she’s a dreamer!
I have always loved the American Girl dolls. However; Luciana is my favorite of all of them. I think it is marvelous that she loves science and space. She has a cool name to go with the cool purple streak in her hair.
I love that she dreams of being an astronaut. It’s very unique!
Would love this for my daughter
My favorite thing about her is all of her cool outfits!
I love that her dreams are big. This teaches our young ladies to do the same.
Love that she wants to be a astronaut and she looks beautiful!
I love that she wants to be an astronaut, I love astronomy
I love the outfit and what a pretty face the doll has.
We love that she is such an explorer! My daughter loves watching the launches with her Dad. Luciana is going to be a great inspiration for my girls! They love Science and we are so happy there is a doll now that will encourage their love for Science. We also homeschool so I am sure Luciana will be included in many lessons in our home!
There is a lot to love about Luciana her awesome collection, her love of space and science. The best thing about her is that she’s different from American Girl’s other Girl of the Year dolls. Her story is different. She isn’t another dancer and she represents those other girls who weren’t represented before. American Girl is branching out and I am loving it!
I love, love, love that The Chirping Moms is supporting STEM. I personally was so excited when I saw the new AG girl of the year and my daughter’s mouth dropped. She loves all things science and space. What a great way to engage young girls!!!
My daughter would absolutely LOVE to win this, Luciana is so cool!
I love that Luciana is a smart girl who is interested in STEM.
My favorite thing about Luciana Vega is she is a positive role model for girls that are interested in STEM fields.
I love that She is so STEM Oriented. My daughter would love to tell her story to her STEM club.
I love that she represents that a girl can be anything she aspires to!