Safety eyewear for a plush rodent

April 29, 2013 7:02 PM

Where can I find safety goggles or glasses for a Beanie Baby mouse? This is for Science.

My husband is a professional science presenter that uses a small stuffed mouse to help him interface in a non-threatening way with young children. Ralph the Science Mouse has been a loyal sidekick for many years but lacks the proper protective eyewear required for many of the experiments he participates in or is a victim of.

Where can we find safety goggles or glasses in an appropriate size? As you can see, he is already equipped with a lab coat and a protective cheese hat.

posted by beandip to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (16 answers total)

Ebay has a variety of doll goggles and doll glasses, some of which are probably the right size for Ralph.
posted by brainmouse at 7:07 PM on April 29, 2013

Response by poster: Thanks brainmouse (epony-awesome!) We've searched online some but most things seem to be in the American Girl size range or the Barbie/Ken size range; it's harder to find things in between. For reference, Ralph's eyes are about 1 and 3/4 inches from center to center, and his head is around 5" in diameter.
posted by beandip at 7:21 PM on April 29, 2013

Build A Bear also has a selection of glasses. It sounds like Ralph might be about the right size.
posted by Morydd at 7:25 PM on April 29, 2013

I'm sure somebody on Etsy would make you custom-sized glasses or goggles (maybe this person!) A search for "doll goggles" yields lots of steampunky goggles, and I bet those crafty folks could make you some sciencey goggles. Might not be cheap, though.
posted by goodbyewaffles at 7:32 PM on April 29, 2013

If you want to go DIY, I would imagine shaping a pair of glasses out of some crafting wire would be fairly easy with a pair of (needle nose) pliers.
posted by kochenta at 7:34 PM on April 29, 2013 [2 favorites]

You could probably make wire-rimmed glasses yourself with a length of wire. Not sure what else you could add to the frame to get it looking more like safety goggles, though.

My daughter used to have a doll (bigger than Barbie, but not quite American Girl size) that had a skateboard and goggles. It's long gone to Goodwill, or I'd send it to you. But maybe a search for doll-sized ski goggles instead of safety glasses would yield better results?

Ski goggles for a 9" Bratz doll. ???
posted by SuperSquirrel at 7:37 PM on April 29, 2013

We have a Beanie Baby cat who's been known to jaunt around in Mister Potatohead accoutrements.
posted by The corpse in the library at 7:40 PM on April 29, 2013 [1 favorite]

You could custom make some out of perler beads.
posted by The corpse in the library at 7:53 PM on April 29, 2013

Something involving wire and shrinky dinks...
Or just shrinky dinks. You can bend it when it's still hot. Cut out goggles and bend them while they're hot into a shape to fit around a mouse head. If you punch small holes in the ends of the arms, you can sew the glasses to the mouse. Maybe you'll need a little hole by the nose too.
posted by artychoke at 8:00 PM on April 29, 2013 [1 favorite]

Harbor freight sells some cheap plastic jeweler's loupes. Two of those with some strategically drilled holes in the sides plus a zip tie might make a pretty good set of Goggles for Ralph.
posted by Kid Charlemagne at 10:38 PM on April 29, 2013 [1 favorite]

Find a doggy boutique near you that carries Doggles. I have a toy size dog and bought her little pink dog goggles because she loves sticking her head out of the window in the car but her long moustache hairs can go up in her eye.
posted by dottiechang at 11:09 PM on April 29, 2013 [2 favorites]

that would be so easy to make

first - find a pair of small clear plastic bottles - like maybe airplane bottles of booze?

cut the bottoms off, leaving maybe half a centimeter of the side

punch holes in opposite sides

attach the two together with a bit of leather the right length so that each lens centers on the eyes

connect them around the back of the head with enough elastic to make them fit snugly

voila! mousegoggles!
posted by 5_13_23_42_69_666 at 12:57 AM on April 30, 2013

This company (Dollmore) has glasses for dolls slightly larger than Barbies - most are about 5.5cm with 3.5cm arms, which should be good (based on the beanie I checked here.)
posted by peagood at 7:32 AM on April 30, 2013

I think you probably want Doggles. They are safety goggles for dogs (yes, really) which are meant to protect dogs who habitually stick their head out the window, dogs on boats, motorcycles, etc.

The X-Small range sounds like it would fit just right. "X-Small: 1-10 Pounds - Head Strap and Frame: 5-13" - Chin Strap: 3-7" - Breed example: Chihuahua, Pom"
posted by ErikaB at 11:08 AM on April 30, 2013 [1 favorite]

Those Doggles look a lot like swim goggles. Maybe baby-sized swim goggles would be small enough? Check a Babies R Us?

Goggles for dogs who stick their heads out windows is the best thing ever.
posted by SuperSquirrel at 7:26 PM on April 30, 2013

Would these or these work? They're a little too steampunk for Science, but maybe you could remove the gears. It looks like they attach with a ribbon, so you could always add length. They're intended for ball-jointed dolls (some of which are pretty big), and it looks like the seller takes on custom work.

You might also want to look into getting Ralph the Science Mouse some disposable gloves (mittens?) for his little paws. You know, for safety. ;)
posted by topoisomerase at 7:54 PM on April 30, 2013