Elwood the doll
Elwood, the "Dream Big" doll
Elwood, the dream big character doll created by fifth grade teacher Doug Hand in October 1980, has traveled over 4 million miles, met three U.S. Presidents, lunched on The Terrace of Parliament, and even traveled to outer space when his face was aboard the Discovery Space Shuttle. Earthbound Elwood has visited 50 states, 17 countries, and 5 continents via U.S. Postal Service, traveling since 1989 in his personalized Rubbermaid refuse container.
Elwood was created when a parent of one of Mr. Hand’s students objected to the class reading Pinocchio, the story about a puppet coming to life and having human dreams. So he decided to make something real. Elwood teaches that dreams are the purest form of imagination, and imagination is the key that will open any door. Elwood can’t hear, see, walk or talk; yet he has been on major network TV shows and radio programs, and his story has appeared in major magazines and newspapers around the world. Through it all he smiles, not because of what he’s accomplished, but because he’s been allowed to follow his dreams. Magic happens wherever Elwood travels and he inspires people of all ages and cultures to believe in their dreams.
And the children learn that they can, in fact, make dreams come true Elwood helps teach Hand’s elementary students at Thome School in Rock Falls, IL an important lesson in life-to always believe in a dream, to have the desire to follow that dream, and the determination to see it through to the end. It took four years of letter writing to get Elwood’s face on the space shuttle.
Each year, the students think about new adventures for Elwood, and write a personal letter to the people they think can help Elwood accomplish their dreams. In the process they also learn about letter writing, geography, social studies, math, and science. And they learn that even famous people are approachable.