 | ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids. |
 | OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | NOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age. |
Innerstar University
Common Sense Media says
Buy American Girl, play in safe, positive virtual world.
Parents say
QUALITY
Kids say
QUALITY
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that users must own an American Girl doll to access most areas of this upbeat virtual world. Once inside, the site's messages are positive and emphasize healthy self-esteem. Since girls communicate through prescripted messages, no personal information is shared and the space is a safe place for American Girl fans to play.
Is it any good?
Girls who purchase new My American Girl dolls or Innerstar University books receive a code to enroll in the INNERSTAR UNIVERSITY virtual world. The campus-like atmosphere includes a number of activities, such as playing lighthearted games, like one that lets girls try on different hairdos. Another activity, the Body Balance game, illustrates basic yoga moves and gives girls an encouraging, upbeat message when they finish playing. Awards and medals earned by playing the site's games are stored in an online yearbook. Girls also work to complete task-oriented projects that include exploring different sections of the site. To buy room decorations and outfits, users receive 1,000 Stars -- which are the site's currency -- when they enter.
There are several fun activities on the site, and thanks to the frequent positive messages for completing activities, Innerstar University aims to build girls' self-esteem. The only catch? Without an American Girl doll code to log in, class may let out quickly -- there isn't much to do.
Online interaction: Girls can invite friends to play certain games, friend other users, and send messages to each other through the site using pre-written messages.
What families can talk about
Families can talk about staying safe online. Why is it safer to use pre-written expressions when sending messages to people you don't know?
What kind of conversations or words should you watch out for on websites where you can send messages without any restrictions?
InnerstarU.com has games and other activities to make learning fun. How can you make school, homework, and reading more fun?
- Show:
- All members
- Parents
- Teens & kids
AGE
I spend more time waiting for it to load rather than playing
I am a teenage american girl collector. When I received a My American GIrl for my birthday, I was so excited to enroll with inner star U! I can normally only spend five minutes on the thing because of all the loading!!! You walk like ten feet to a mirror and what do you know, about two minutes of loading! I did the whole club penguin thing when I was younger and millions of kids played on that but loading was NOT an issue!
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AGE
Okay.
The website is fun, but don't bother going on it if you want too spend $100 on a doll.
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AGE
Perfect for Tweens, Reasonably Price!
Here's my hint to parents: If you don't have a doll you can get a free preview, but that only includes about 2 out of the seemingly endless games and places. DON'T show your child the website unless they have a My American Girl Doll. They'll want to see everything and unless you want to buy a $95 doll... Here's some food for thought: The whole reason AG created this site is to sell more dolls. If you think that your child will enjoy the website (and I think they will!) AND they'll play with the doll offline as well then this is a great buy. But, if the website is the only thing that they want, then they probably don't want the doll, they just want the website. Consider this when purchasing. Lastly, are you worried it's too much money? Well if they're gonna use the doll and the website, here's my advice. Let's say you want a typical virtual world for your child for 2 years. Most websites are about $6 a month. 6 times 24 (months per 2 years) is $144. That's more than an AG doll (95) and with an AG doll they get "membership" forever.
In conclusion, if your child will use it offline and online, then it's one of the best buys you'll ever make.
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Kid, 12 years old
November 25, 2010
AGE
unfair
I had bought a american doll BEFORE Innerstar University. My doll did not come with a code. Now I have to buy another exspensive doll to play! >:(
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AGE
Not good enough for the price
I've been on this website. I didn't buy a doll- I just played the games for free. Compared to some other games I've played like this, it wasn't that great. First of all, to get an account you have to pay about $100.00(for the doll) , which I think is a rip-off for the quality of the site. Innerstar university is small, half the size of club penguin basiclly. You can play games, but it's a little hard to get out of the games. It's nice, but I think I would get easily bored on it. If it was a small price for a membership (and the doll was a seperate thing) maybe, $4.00 a moth I might join.
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AGE
Meh...
I bought my first American Girl doll when I was 13, a little late yes, but I loved it for a while. There's nothing really special about these dolls to spend nearly $100 for... Anyway, I kinda hated that how the website was created AFTER I got my doll but it doesn't seem that exciting to me from the outside looking in. To me, I say it's not worth it.
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Kid, 10 years old
July 22, 2011
AGE
Vey good website
I love this website for my kids! I am a parent of three year old boy, six year old boy and a nine year old girl. My girl LOVES Innerstar University. She told me she heard about it at school and how the kids at school like it. She didn't have a doll so she could not put in a doll code or star code. She tried the free preview. She said it was boring and unless you have a doll you cannot get all the unlock all the stuff. So I decided to carry her to the toy store to check out the doll. I mean, how much can it be? That thing was 100 bucks!!! I told her sorry I didn't have the money and if she wanted it she would have to save her own money to buy it.She got a book with innerstar university and they gave her a star code for 18 days preview. Well, she told me she loved it and she kept entering the code over and over again! I finally gave up and bought her the doll. Now she goes on it everyday!
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Kid, 11 years old
October 18, 2010
AGE
ilove every thing there
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Kid, 11 years old
October 15, 2010
AGE
It's alright, but not by much
I tried playing it full, because I bought a doll. It was alright, but not by far. It got frozen easily, and I ended up expecting to get frozen every time. Once you have played all the games, and have some of the items, you probably would get easily bored. They let you chose your personality, and get to customize you girl, which is pretty nice. I still try to play on it sometimes. From the looks of it if you might have played on it a lot, you might have got bored already. I like the books they make, doll is excellent quality, but the website doesn't seem to fit.
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| Genre: | Virtual Worlds |
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