Telescope?

Re: Telescope?

• ss+el member

  August 2014

  I think you can usually find a telescope on black friday sales in the $20 or less range. We have one (specifically Vivitar) that we kept after we found out it would be a duplicate gift to the recipient and not worth our effort to return, and opened it when DS was 5. Seems sturdy enough for him to handle. We haven't actually used it properly yet, every time I promised we'd look at stars, it ended up being a cloudy night. Should be adequate at that age, then if you find he is still into it in a few years, buy something more expensive.
  

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• neverblushed member

  August 2014

  My mom got my DH a telescope for Christmas.  It will connect to the computer as auntie mentions in her reply above.  I am a total geek for astronomy stuff; my H likes to use the telescope as you would use binoculars -- to see stuff on land that's far away.

  
  

  Honestly, I think a telescope will be a disappointment to a 5 year old.  Ours is a pretty decent telescope (probably cost in the hundreds, not the tens or thousands) and it's actually difficult to use.  And when you get it all focused where you want it... you're still looking at dots of light in the sky.  I'm guessing a 5 y/o is thinking he's going to see Saturn's rings and Jupiter's red spot, etc.  That just won't happen with a telescope that costs what you'd spend on a kid's Christmas present.

  
  

  One of my favorite astronomy gizmos is an app on my phone called "Google Sky."  You turn it on and point your phone at any object in the sky, and it will tell you what it is.  It will show you what points of light are planets, where various constellations are, and even has man-made satellites labeled.  I find it to be a more satisfying way of "stargazing" than using the telescope.

  
  

  I also have 3 book recommendations that your son might enjoy, although all are a bit above a 5 year old:

  
  

  1.  The Handy Astronomy Answer Book -- written in the form of questions and answers, this book is great at explaining astronomy stuff in layman's terms, and it has plenty of pictures.  

  
  

  2.  The Universe -- this is a gigantic coffee-table book that basically covers the same info as #1 above, but in much more detail and depth. It's not at all written for a kid.  However, as a coffee-table book, the pictures are interesting.  The text is sort of intense, though!

  
  

  3.  The National Geographic Beyond Our Galaxy: Exploring The Vastness Of Space -- this is a magazine special from Nat Geo that has awesome pictures of planets, moons, other galaxies, etc. and very "up to the minute" info about the latest discoveries about topics like Dark Matter, Dark Energy, and the Big Bang.  It's not specifically written for kids, but it would be accessible to a curious 5 y/o -- and cheap, because it's a magazine!

  
  

  Hope that helps you satisfy his curiosity and encourage his interest!

  High School English teacher and mom of 2 kids:

  
  

  DD, born 9/06/00 -- 12th grade

  DS, born 8/25/04 -- 7th grade

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• sunnydays99 member

  August 2014

  Thanks for the feedback. I'm going to look into the other suggestions and books. If I don't do the telescope I'll have to start trying to change his mind ASAP! He's already been talking about it for over a month and really has his heart set on it :-(   My dad has a pretty inexpensive one, maybe I'll have him try that out and see if he seems disappointed in it.

  There is also an observatory near us that I'm going to contact to see if they have any programs for young kids, I think he'd love that!! 

  
  
  
  
  

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