My First "Minis Monday" - Happy Birthday, Dr. Franklin!!!

When you think of Philadelphia, who do you think of?

I'll bet that one of your first answers was Benjamin Franklin.

Ben made his home in Philly for over 65 years, and during that time he helped as a Founder of the United States, was an inventor (including some things we still use today!), had a print shop, was a writer, and loved science experiments. Among other things.

WELL - his birthday was Friday, and I got to celebrate all weekend.

 I went to the Franklin Institute on Friday afternoon. I've been there a ton of times, and I always LOVE it. 

PLUS - Sunday, I got to visit the NEW Ben Franklin museum - it was FREE all weekend. There's been a Ben Franklin museum in Franklin Court for years and years. I've been there a lot, and even showed a Travelling Doll or two around. But, last year, they closed, and I haven't been there since they re-opened this past August.  It's like a whole new museum now, and I brought my Mini Julie along to give you a tour!

Here's the new entrance:

At the ticket desk, we found this little guy. He's a new tour guide for kids!

Julie got a picture with the park ranger's groovy tie-dye bear, too.

We headed downstairs, and found another Skuggs. Just when we were wondering WHY he was called Skuggs...

...we looked down and read a sign that explained it: people used to call squirrels that name.

Next to this Skuggs, there were some scavenger hunt pages for kids. There were 3 different ones, with topics including "Curiousity," "Team Player," and "Hard Worker." I picked the "Team Player" hunt to share with you, because I think that being a team player is something Julie's book character shares with Ben Franklin.

It turns out that the WHOLE. ENTIRE. museum is coded with these symbols. Each section has a different symbol and talks about a different part of Ben Franklin's life. 

The scavenger hunt page had clues for my Mini Julie to find in each of the sections. Each clue shows how Ben was a Team Player!

First, we had to find Skuggs in the "Fire Bucket Room"

He was way up high, reading a book.

We learned that Ben wanted to help make Philadelphia better. He started our first library, and it's still around today. In fact, it's the oldest one in America!

There was a touch screen that told us more about it, too.

The scavenger hunt asked what book we'd add to the library. 

I don't know of a lot of books that were around back in 1731, but I think I'd have picked "The Odyssey."

What book would you pick today?

Next, we were guided to go to the Kite Room.

 Skuggs was there wearing a lab coat, looking like he was concentrating hard on a science experiment. To learn what he's using, you'll have to visit the museum!

The Scientific Network Screen showed movies that showed how Ben worked with teams of people who were interested in science.  The movie about Fossils was really cool. It's crazy to think that, back then, people were JUST starting to learn about animals that had gone extinct. This study would become Paleontology. Ben was fascinated, and had people send him fossils to study.

We had to find a fossil, too. It turns out that, years later in the 1950s, archaeologists found one of the fossils Ben had been sent, still buried on his land. Look at how big this Mastodon's tooth was!

Next, we had to hurry back to the Fire Bucket room.

We learned that Ben started the first fire fighting group in Philadelphia, too. Fires can be dangerous when you live in a city where everyone's close together. In the movie, we saw group members working together to fight fires.

Here's my Mini Julie with one of their fire buckets. Back then, they used leather.

The Teacup Room was up next.

The scavenger hunt page said it was time to learn about Ben's friends and family. The portrait it said to find was not far from Skuggs at all. Here's Polly Stevenson, the daughter of his landlady in London. He treated her like a daughter and even acted as a tutor for her.

The Rook Room was the final stop on the hunt.

Ben Franklin was definitely acting as a team player when he tried to get all the American Colonies to work together against the British! He knew we'd be stronger that way. Here's a symbol he designed:

Now, the BIG QUESTIONS:

"Decide what you think best shows the idea of Ben being generous, caring, thoughtful or a team player and take a photo of it."

We picked a picture of one of Ben's inventions.It's made to hold a big group of Leyden Jars together. They hold electricity, and, together, they could hold even more electricity than before. He called his invention a battery! A sign at the museum said Ben never patented his inventions because he thought everyone should be able to use them. That was super generous! People are still using his inventions today - do you know anyone who wears bifocals or uses a Franklin stove?

This activity shows a lot more of Ben's ideas that sailors still use today! You've GOT to check it out!

"Can you find a spot in the exhibit to show that you experimented with or explored Ben's world?"

First, we checked out the Glass Armonica, a musical instrument Ben invented.

We had fun experimenting with their digital Glass Armonica. You can try to play songs on it! (I love this one so much more than the exhibit the museum used to have - it's way more interactive, and a lot of fun. All the kids wanted to play it, and most big people, too!)

Mini Julie also visited Skuggs at Ben's virtual printing office. Before you visit his real life printing office just a few steps outside the museum, out by Market Street, you can watch a movie about how the printing process worked, touch some of the supplies used, and even see your name in print!

You can also play games, like the Magic Squares Ben loved. Have you ever done these in Math class? They're fun, and a lot like Sudoku.

And, you can even see the chair a very old Ben rode in every day when he was a delegate to the Constitutional Convention. How do you think it would feel to have people carry you to work every day?

Finally, it was time to say goodbye to Skruggs, who I found off reading in a corner. I won't tell you where, though - you'll have to find him yourself!

And - ta-da - here's the stamp that you, too, can earn at the end of one of these scavenger hunts!

Would you put yours in your National Parks passport, on your hand, or save it for a scrapbook of your trip?

If you haven't guessed yet, I absolutely LOVE the new Ben Franklin museum!!!!

They charge admission now, but it's definitely worth going. The old museum had a lot of neat old things that were related to Ben, don't get me wrong. I just especially love how the remodel added a lot more interactive things to the museum. There are movies with funny stories about Ben, games to play, and plenty of parts of the exhibits that are actually okay to touch. If you go with your family, make sure you pick up one of the Skuggs scavenger hunts, and you'll have fun zig-zagging back and forth through the exhibits (no running, of course!) to find the answers to the questions.

I thought I knew EVERYTHING there was to know about Ben Franklin, and, if you feel the same, I bet you'll still learn something new, and have fun, too! 

So, what's Mini Julie wearing? 

Her outfit - the skirt, tank, and poncho are all from the Only Hearts Club Striped Poncho and Cargo Skirt Outfit

Her shoes - Red Boots from Ruby Red Galleria's "Gypsy" outfit for Kish's Riley.

Opening GOTY 2014 - Mini Isabelle Review Time

It's a cold, windy snow day. And, I got Mini Isabelle from Target as a present yesterday.

After shovelling some snow, my sister Anna and I changed to our warmest, most cuddly jammies. We made tea, got our dolls out, and put a movie on. (The Nutcracker!)

Here I am with Julie.

Here's Anna with Molly.

Finally, it was time to open my Mini Isabelle!!!

Isabelle came in a box that looks like a big AG box. She's standing behind a plastic holder for her book, just like the big dolls do. Just like Mini Saige last year, her book is paperback instead of hardback. But, we usually get paperback GOTY books anyway, so that makes her mini book more like the big ones.

Her book looks fun. I like the illustration inside, too, of her at the ballet barre.

I think Isabelle looks nice enough, and I bet a lot of kids will like her. She's blonde (again!) but I don't have a blonde doll with eyes that are her color. Her lips are a very light pink. It's kind of weird, but her character's a dancer, so maybe it's stage makeup? The pink in her hair is one of the coolest parts of her look. I think her pink hair would have looked super cool on a doll with darker hair or skin, too, though. 

Its' blurry, but here's an idea of how they did Mini Isabelle's dip dye. There's a whole hot pink layer of hair near her neck.

You can see the pink better in this picture. I wish there was a little bit more pink, because it's harder to see on my Mini. Colored hair is really popular here, and I can buy clip-ins in almost any color I want at our local hair supply shop. (I have electric blue and hot pink!) So, I wish Isabelle's were a little easier to see. Otherwise, she looks like just another blonde doll.

I love the see-through sleeves on Isabelle's shirt, and the ballerina graphic. But, I wanted to figure out why Isabelle's shirt looks kind of bulky. I mean, it looks HUGE on her compared to the outfits I've put together for my other AG Minis.

They really worked on the neckline. There's a teeny tiny facing there, so the neckline is finished and lays flat. That's also what makes her look kinda like she's wearing shoulder pads.

Argh! I wish I could get a better close-up of that ballerina graphic. I love it!

The pants kind of have a weird gathered elastic waist. It makes her front wrinkly, but I know the gathers also help get the pants on the doll. Her shirt mostly covers that up anyway. She also has real pink undies under the silver sparkly pants. I think that's awesome. On a doll this tiny, that also adds a LOT of thickness to the doll, though. So, that explains part of all that bulk.

I think the biggest bit that makes her shirt look so bulky is the GIGANTIC double tag that is sewn into the shirt. Look how huge that is! One tag just has a number on it, the other has the American Girl logo and "Made in China." My doll herself also has two more even BIGGER tags at her waist, too. One is almost 2 inches long! 

I'd take points away on my review for the huge tags right at her waist. But, I think the law says they have to be there so AG can sell the doll. If they annoy you, it'd be pretty easy to cut them off after you buy her.

I do have a lot of blonde AG dolls already - Julie, Kit, and Kirsten. Then there's also GOTY Kailey, Nicki, Gwen, Lanie, and even McKenna, who also have lighter hair.  I was wondering if Isabelle would look too much like my Julie or Kit. Her face is the same as Kit's, but her eyes and lips are definitely different colors. And her face looks really different than Julie's.

Julie and Isabelle's hair look almost exactly the same. Isabelle's is a little bit shorter, and pulled into a half ponytail on either side. 

Here's my Julie and Isabelle together.

Overall, I recommend getting Mini Isabelle. There have already been a lot of blonde GOTY dolls, but Mini Isabelle is the first blonde mini GOTY so far.  I admit that I sure do have a lot of blonde AG dolls now, and I do hope for a Girl of the Year who's a little different next - I live in a big city, and there are just so many more girls' looks to pick from and so many colors that make for especially awesome outfits on girls with darker skin that all these light-skinned dolls are getting kind of silly!

I love that they're making Mini GOTY dolls now. It makes me want to learn more about her, even if I know I can't meet *big* Isabelle any time soon. It turns out that I really like a lot of her collection, and am starting to want some of her things for me and my Mini Isabelle. And, of course, I want to read ALL of her books!

I really like the idea of her story because Isabelle is also interested in what goes on behind the scenes in performing, just like I am. She loves making costumes! I can't wait to start making some costumes for her, too! 

Isabelle's collection is also really cool - I dream of getting her sewing machine, craft closet, and dress form for myself! Maybe I'll have to start saving up for it now.

There are mix-and-match outfits that have some neat pieces, even though I'm not a serious ballet dancer. I take Ukrainian dance lessons, which use some ballet, and I know I'd especially like some of her practice things for when I practice, if I didn't already have Marisol's practice set. But, I have some friends who REALLY love ballet, and I know her things will be popular with them

Mia's coral sweater looks especially comfy as something cuddly to wear after dance class, or even to school.

Have you seen her pjs, though?

I think her pjs remind me of Mia's - they have a "faux wrap" design just like hers. Only Isabelle's are on the pants, like this: http://store.americangirl.com/images/F7331_main_2.jpg

And Mia's looked like this: http://americangirl.wikia.com/wiki/Mia%27s_PJ%27s_Set

Which do you like better - the Purple ones or the Periwinkle ones? I can't decide which is my favorite!

Anyway, I'll be back later with more reviews. 

Have a great day from me, Anna, and some of our Minis!