Girls Explore offers products providing positive role models

A collectibles resource article by Mary Harrsch © 2006

A Girls Explore Amelia Earhart doll kit with compass

I belong to a Toy Directory mailing list and this morning I received a newsletter with information about a new vendor named "Girls Explore". Their website describes their mission:

Simone in a Blue Bonnet 1903 by Mary Cassatt  (Photo by
Mary Harrsch © 2006) 

"Girls Explore was founded on the belief that girls can be anything they want, but that sometimes they don´t always have the best role models. With that in mind, we started making dolls and biographies based on women who serve as exceptional role models. We chose women who achieved greatness even in the face of tremendous hardship and went on to live their dreams. At Girls Explore, we want to show young women that their value lies in what they do, not in how they look and that they can accomplish anything if they put their minds to it and work hard."

They offer doll/biography combinations for such historical figures as Amelia Earhart, Harriet
Tubman, artist Mary Cassatt, black pilot Bessie Coleman, champion golfer Babe Didrikson Zaharias, and naturalist Anna Comstock. Each doll kit includes an "action" item like a compass with the Earhart kit, a set of paints with Cassatt, and a magnifying glass with Comstock. The biographies are written for reading level age 8 and up.