There are many special characters in Animal Crossing to lead you through different parts of the game and act as mascots for all the activities. Tom Nook takes the lead on your home and finances.
The Abel Sisters offer various clothing options to dress yourself. Flick (and Gnat in previous games) is the patron of bug-catching and many more.
Of all these different parts of Animal Crossing, my favorite has always been the museum. Ever since I was a child playing Wild World, I have been obsessed with donating as much as possible to Blathers.
I tried to catch all the bugs and fish, dig up all the fossils, and examine every artwork I could get my hands on. Thus, one of my favorite characters is Blathers.
Blathers is the owl in charge of the museum in every Animal Crossing game. He’s an intelligent fellow who loves to share what he’s learned about the world. In fact, he might like sharing too much as he often has a lot to say on any given subject.
Nevertheless, he’s passionate about the world around him and loves to see your contributions, except for bugs. He has a particularly strong fear of bugs. He also has a closer relationship with his sister, Celeste, who has a similar love for science but has focused on astronomy rather than nature and history.
Blathers’ Appearance
Blathers’ entire design is based around circles and rounded edges. He’s got a big round head and a big round body with wings tipped with several rounded feathers. This makes him look approachable and friendly. It also helps to make it look like he’s spent most of his life at a desk instead of running around.
The most striking features of Blathers’ face are his eyes and beak. Owls are known for their large eyes, and Blathers is no exception. He’s got two huge eyes that overlap with his pink cheeks. His beak is also fairly large and brings some brighter color to his mostly neutral palette.
Above his eyes are two long feathers lined with light brown dots that make him resemble a great horned owl. In real life, these protrusions are called plumicorns and are sometimes referred to as horns or ears.
Though, they don’t serve the purpose of horns or ears and are mostly used for non-verbal communication. In-game, they serve as eyebrows and distinguishing features for Blathers’ silhouette.
In terms of color, Blathers is very reserved. Most of his feathers are rich, dark brown. His wings are tipped with white and black to distinguish his feathers, and his face is a light cream color that draws your attention to his huge eyes. His brightest colors, however, are the yellow of his beak and legs.
Blathers doesn’t wear any clothes, but that doesn’t stop him from looking well-dressed. He has a round spot on his stomach that is patterned in light brown and cream diamonds, resembling an argyle sweater vest. Above that, his only worn accessory is a dark green bowtie.
Blathers’ Personality
As I’ve mentioned earlier, Blathers is very studious. He spends a lot of time reading and researching and doesn’t settle on just one topic. His knowledge of natural science is extensive, he can identify genuine artwork instantly, and he’s well-versed in history.
His passion for knowledge isn’t kept secret either. He is eager and excited to share anything he knows with you. Anytime you donate something to the museum, he’ll share fun facts and tends to ramble about anything on his mind. In fact, this is where his name comes from, as he tends to blather on about his interests.
Some people have found this a little irritating, but I greatly enjoy it. I make sure to read every piece of trivia he provides. Sometimes I even show him random fish, bigs, or fossils I have in my pocket to hear it all over again.
Though Blathers is very dedicated to his museum, he might seem different depending on when you come to him. Since he’s an owl, he is nocturnal and sleeps during the day. So most of the time you visit him, you’ll need to wake him up first.
It might seem to lay to sleep on the job like this, but though he just woke up, Blathers is fully ready to help you with any request. It takes him no time to get down to business.
Then if you wander into the museum at night, you’ll find him fully awake and reading his book. He’s at his station day and night, never taking the time to rest and always ensuring the museum is in top shape with information on all the donations you’ve made.
Blathers and his Museum in New Horizons – Getting Blathers to Your Island and Opening the Museum
In the previous Animal Crossing games, Blathers has been ready and waiting for you. Sitting in an empty museum and excited to finally have someone to fill it once you pay him a visit. Since New Horizons begins with a completely deserted island, you need to bring Blathers in before you can start your donations.
As you start your new island life, Tom Nook will give you various instructions on how to play and start building your community. One of these will be catching fish and bugs. When capturing them, give each new one to Tom Nook.
Once you’ve given him five unique creatures, he’ll stop accepting them and call his friend, who spent his whole life studying nature and science.
Tom Nook will then announce that his friend will be moving to the island and will need a tent to conduct studies of the local wildlife. You’ll then be given a construction kit to set up a spot for Blathers’ tent.
The next day Blathers will move in and introduce himself as a scholar. He’ll mention the possibility of fossils on the island and give you a flimsy shovel recipe to dig them up.
Once you’ve been properly equipped, Blathers says he can’t open a nearly empty museum and will ask you to find a donate fifteen more items. These items include fish, bugs, assessed fossils, or sea creatures.
Once you’ve given Blathers fifteen more items, he will exclaim that the museum and ready to open. The next day the tent will be closed and replaced by a construction site.
So you won’t have access to any of Blathers’ services, but that will only be one day, and you can hold on to our fossils and donations for the next day when the museum is open.
Using Blathers’ Services
Donations
There are a few services Blathers offers. Some he does right away, and others must be unlocked by opening the museum. The first is accepting donations.
When you donate something to Blathers, he will take it and add it to his collection. Everything you donate will be displayed in the museum alongside a plaque providing basic information on the subject.
Until the museum is fully upgraded, Blathers accepts donations of fish, bugs, sea creatures, and fossils. Only one of each specimen can be donated, so you don’t need to worry about giving Blathers everything you find.
Anytime you find a new creature, bring it to Blathers and talk to him. Select the first dialogue option, “Make a Donation.” This will automatically open your pocket and highlight anything missing from the museum.
At the beginning of the game, you’ll only be able to donate one item at a time, but once the museum properly opens, you’ll be able to donate multiple items simultaneously.
Suppose you have nothing in your pocket to donate and pick the donation option. In that case, Blathers will say you don’t have anything available and remind you what donations are accepted.
Assessing Fossils
The other primary service Blathers provides is fossil assessment. Every day there will be four fossils buried on your island. When you dig them up, they appear as blue rocks and aren’t worth much.
However, you can have them identified by Blathers, and they will become the petrified bones of an ancient creature. They can then be donated, placed as furniture, or sold for a much higher price.
To assess your fossils, speak to Blathers and pick the second dialogue option, “Assess Fossils.” Similar to donations, this will open your pocket and highlight all the relevant items. This time it will only be unidentified fossils. Also, like donations, you’ll only be able to assess one at a time until the museum opens.
After evaluating the fossils, Blathers will tell you if there are any missing from the museum’s collection. If all your fossils are already in the museum, Blathers will express his desire to buy them for his personal collection. Unfortunately, there is no way to sell or give Blathers our extra fossils.
Asking for Information
While donations and fossils assessments are Blathers’ primary duties, there are a few other services he provides that are unlocked a little later in the game. The first is asking Blathers to tell you about something.
This service is unlocked once the museum is open and is a way to have Blathers repeat the spiel he gives when you donate an item.
To ask Blathers about an item:
- Have something in your pocket that is included in the museum, most likely something you’ve already donated.
- Select the third dialogue option, “Tell me about this!”
- Choose the item you want to learn about from your pocket.
Blathers will then repeat the same speech he uses when the item is donated.
Buying Posters
The final service Blathers offers is only available when you finish a collection in the museum. Once you’ve donated every item in a collection, Blathers will give you a poster themed to that exhibit. There are five posters that you can collect.
- Bug Poster
- Fish Poster
- Framed Art Poster
- Framed Fossil Poster
- Fram Sea Creature Poster
Each poster shows a bunch of the creatures or items in the collection. They are all organized to make the poster look full but neat. They give a fun academic vibe to interior design, and I have all of mine hanging on my walls.
Adding on to the Museum
Once you’ve opened the museum, you may notice it is missing the art exhibit from previous games. It isn’t missing; just part of an upgrade. Once you’ve donated 60 items to the museum, Blathers will mention wanting to display art. You’ll find Redd wandering around your island soon after.
You can buy a piece of art from Redd and give it to Blathers to start the exhibit. From then on, Redd will visit your island at the secret beach, and you can buy art from him. Just make sure you can discern genuine art from fake.
You’ll also be able to add The Roost to the museum. You’ll unlock the ability to have the coffee shop once you reach three stars and K.K. performs on your island.
All you have to do after that is talk to Blathers, and he’ll tell you about his old friend Brewster. He’ll ask you to find Brewster so that he can open a coffee shop in the museum. To find Brewster talk to Kapp’n, who will now be sitting in a boat at your pier. Kapp’n will take you to an island where you’ll discover Brewster hunting for gyroids.
You can then talk to Brewster and convince him to come out of retirement and open a new shop in your museum. He’ll accept, and The Roost will be open the next day.
Blathers and his Museum in New Horizons
When entering the museum, you’ll find yourself in the main lobby. Blathers will be there, either reading or sleeping, and doors will lead to each exhibit and The Roost. The rooms are each denoted with a plaque showing a gold relief of what can be found there.
Fish and Sea Creatures
The room to the right of the museum lobby is the aquarium. It is comprised of three rooms, the river room, the deep sea room, and the ocean room.
This is where all the fish and sea creatures you’ve donated will live. You’ll find empty tanks in each room when you first unlock the museum. As you contribute more and more, they will be filled not only with fish and other aquatic creatures but plants and decorations to bring them to life.
My favorite part of the aquarium is the tunnel in the ocean room. It’s a spot where there’s a tunnel through the tank, and you can stand underneath the water while the fish swim around you. The open ocean tank with all the giant sharks and fish swimming in a circle is a close second.
Bugs
Blathers’ most feared exhibit is to the left of the museum lobby. It also has three rooms, a butterfly room, a research room, and the huge jungle room. Much like the aquarium, the rooms look rather empty at first, though they do already have plenty of cool plants to look at.
Most bugs fly free around their enclosure or hang out on their favorite tree. The exception is the research room, where all the bugs are confined to tanks designed to mimic their natural habitats.
I love sitting in the butterfly room as all the pretty bugs fly around me. It’s filled to the brim with beautiful flowers once you’ve donated all the butterflies. The way they float about is mesmerizing.
My favorite part of the bug museum is the giant tree in the corner of the jungle room. During the day, it doesn’t look like much, but at night the biggest, baddest bugs gather around the red marking and fight each other.
Fossils
The basement of the museum houses all the fossilized remains of creatures long extinct. The lighting is much darker than in the other rooms, giving the entire exhibit a spooky, dramatic vibe.
All the fossils are dramatically lit to emphasize their size and detail. The three rooms in the fossil exhibit are the early life room, the dinosaur room, and the mammal room. Each depicts life from different pre-historic periods.
There are plenty of fun easter eggs to be found in the fossil exhibit. The dinosaur room has spots that will dramatically change the camera angle and show you a new perspective of the room. In the mammal room, there is a line of animal silhouettes with an empty spot that will light up if you stand there. But by far, my favorite is the floor.
At first glance, the design on the floor looks like a bunch of lines, but if you pay attention, you’ll find that they are evolutionary paths. You can track the way they branch out to see how species evolved.
Art
Once you’ve upgraded the museum, the empty balcony in the lobby will gain a door to the art room. It’s comprised of one large room housing plenty of paintings and cultures spanning several periods and cultures.
This is the hardest part of the museum to complete without time travel. I’ve been playing nearly every day since release, and I’m still one painting short of the full collection.
To get the art, you must wait for Redd to visit your island or unlock his trailer at Harv’s artist collective. In either case, you can only buy one piece of art daily, and you need to check if it is genuine before buying it. Some pieces, like the Nice Painting and Great Statue, are always real, but most come in two forms: genuine and fake.
There’s always one detail you can find to distinguish the two, and some are very subtle. I recommend pulling up the real-life piece to compare or finding an art guide online.
The Roost
The final part of the museum functions more as its own building that just happens to be part of the museum. The Roost is a cafe found to the left on the balcony and is run by the pigeon Brewster.
In earlier games, it was in the museum basement, except for New Leaf, when it had its own building. It used to be a cozy space where Brewster served coffee and K.K. performed on weekends. Now it feels much more modern.
At The Roost, you can drink coffee, talk to villagers and special characters, and use your amiibo cards to invite characters for coffee. You’ll get gifts from Brewster for drinking a lot of coffee, like a coffee maker and Brewster-themed gyroid.
This Roost is lackluster compared to previous games like New Leaf. You can no longer use Brewster to store your gyroids and can’t work at the cafe to make drinks for your villagers, so it’s a tad disappointing.
Blathers and his Museum in Previous Games
Animal Crossing
In the first game, Blathers’ only official duty is accepting donations. He says he is not licensed to identify fossils, so the player must send their fresh finds to the Farway Museum to be assessed.
Like in every game, there are four exhibits, fish, bugs, art, and fossils. However, the museum is much smaller as each exhibit is only one room. There aren’t any upgrades to be made to this museum. Its location is random, but usually, it can be found towards the south of the town.
Wild World
Like the original Animal Crossing, the layout of the town in Wild World is randomized. You’ll be able to find the museum in the center of your town or by the north cliffs.
Blathers has now earned the license to identify fossils and eagerly provides that service to the player. He’ll accept donations for the four exhibits that have grown in size. The fish, bug, and fossils exhibits now have multiple rooms.
There are now two new additions to the museum as well. At the back of the lobby, a set of stairs leads up to an observatory. Here Celeste looks at the stars, and you can go to her and looks through the telescope to find constellations.
Then there are stairs to the right that lead to the basement. Here is the first version of The Roost. Brewster will serve you coffee, and K.K. Slider will play music on Saturday nights.
City Folk
The museum in City Folk runs the same as Wild World. Blathers identifies fossils and accepts donations while Celeste studies in her upstairs observatory and Brewster runs his cafe downstairs. However, the exhibits look very different. The bug, art, and fossil exhibits have multiple floors, and the fish exhibit is in one massive room.
New Leaf
In New Leaf, you can find the museum on Main Street, just north of your town. It is there at the beginning of the game, but it can be upgraded. All four of the exhibit rooms branch off from the lobby on the first floor. The second floor will be unlocked once the player has met their criteria. One, there must be at least one item donated to each exhibit.
Two, there must be a minimum of 20 items donated. Last, the player must have spoken to Blathers on fourteen different days. Once all these requirements are met, Blathers will suggest opening the second floor.
The second floor of the museum is run by Celeste. It houses the museum gift shop and rental exhibits. You can go to the gift shop to buy items that will be unlocked by donating. There’s themed wallpaper and flooring, as well as silver tools. These silver tools are upgraded versions of the tools bought at Nook’s Cranny.
While the Roost doesn’t have a spot in the museum, it is still tied to the museum’s progress. Once you’ve built the second floor, Blathers will mention that Brewster wants to open his own cafe. You’ll then be able to choose a spot to construct The Roost in your town.
Blathers’ Guest Appearances
Pocket Camp
Blathers appears in Pocket Camp as the host of Blathers Treasure Trek. It’s a mini-game that allows you to spend resources to roll dice to guide Blathers across a map. Maps can be given by campers, won during events, found in balloons, or bought at Gulliver’s shop.
They show a path lined with spaces that Blathers may land on when you roll the dice, ending in a grand prize. The grand prize determines the map type; each type is gained differently and uses different resources to roll.
- Crafting Material Map
- From: Ballons and Villager Requests
- Roll Cost: 1,000 Bells
- Essence Map
- From: Balloons and Villager Requests
- Roll Cost: 6 Crafting Materials
- Bells Map
- From: Balloons and Villager Requests
- Roll Cost: 3 Friend Powder
- Buncha Bells Map
- From Balloons and Completing Villager Requests
- Roll Cost: 15 Friend Powder
- Sparkle Stone Map
- From: Gold Balloons
- Roll Cost: 10,000 Bells
- Reissue Material Map
- From: Event Goal
- Roll Cost: 10,000 Bells
- HH Material Map
- From: Event Goal
- Roll Cost: 10,000 Bells
- Leaf Ticket Map
- From: Event Goal or Gulliver
- Roll Cost: 30,000 Bells
- Lotsa Leaf Ticket Map
- From: Event Goal or Gulliver
- Roll Cost: 50,000 Bells
- Villager Map
- From: Gulliver
- Roll Cost: Villager’s Theme Essence
Smash Bros
In the Smashville map in Smash Bros Brawl, Smash Bros Wii U/3DS, and Smash Bros Ultimate, you can see Blathers appear as a background character.
Blathers also makes an appearance in Smash Bros Ultimate as a spirit. Spirits are ways to give your fighters extra boosts or abilities while fighting. Blathers is a support spirit, meaning he grants an additional ability. If you fight with Blathers, you will start the fight with a black hole that will pull other fighters to you.
You can unlock Blathers as a spirit by buying him from the shop, winning a fight with him on the Spirit Board, or summoning him with a t-rex core, fisherman’s core, and beetle core for 1600 SP.
Blathers Amiibo
Since Blathers is a special character, he receives both Amiibo cards and an Amiibo figure. The figure shows Blathers with his mouth open and wings outstretched as if he is explaining something. It was released in 2016 for western audiences and in 2015 in Japan.
Blathers’ first card was part of series 3, also released in 2016. It shows him waving against a purple background. The card has the first symbol and is the number 202.
His second card was released in 2021 as part of series 5. It depicts him reading a book also against a purple background. This time, the background is decorated with a repeating leaf pattern rather than the random symbols of earlier cards. This card is number 406.
Both the cards and figure can be used for the same purposes. They can be scanned and used in amiibo compatible games. New Horizons and New Leaf are the only mainline Animal Crossing games compatible with amiibo.
New Leaf unlocks a special item that will be given to you by Blathers. New Horizons lets you invite Blathers to several activities, including getting coffee, a photoshoot at Photopia, and designing his vacation home.
There are also non-Animal Crossing games that give you Blathers-specific rewards. Poochy and Yoshi’s Woolly World will give you a Blathers yarn pattern, and Super Mario Maker will give you a Blathers-themes mushroom costume.
FAQs
Question: How Long does it Take Blathers to Move in?
Answer: If you are asking in comparison to starting the game, that’s up to you. Blathers will only move to your island once you’ve given five fish or bugs to Tom Nook.
However, once you’ve done that, it will only take a day for Blathers to move in. Anytime you unlock a museum upgrade after that, the museum will be closed for a day and reopen the next.
Question: Is Donating to Blathers Worth it?
Answer: I may be heavily biased since the museum is my favorite part of the game, but it’s worth it. You may miss out on a payment from a few rare items, but you only ever need to donate one of each.
In the grand scheme of the game, it’s not that much to lose out on, and it takes little time. The way the museum expands is gorgeous and gives your villagers and yourself a fun place to hang out. If you don’t donate, you miss out on that.
Question: Does Blathers ever Give You Anything?
Answer: At the beginning of the game, Blathers provides you with a flimsy shovel recipe and fossil assessment services. Later on, whenever you complete an exhibit Blathers will give you a poster depicting some of the artifacts or creatures. They have this cool academic style as if they came from a researcher’s notebook or a vintage textbook.
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