I posted a while back about my 4 y/o son (Cole) who loves astronomy. Ya'll helped put me in touch with my local astronomy club. Thanks so much. My son is so happy. He loves going to the monthly meetings. He even enjoyed this last meeting and the presentation was about filters. I mean how boring should that be for a little kid...but he LOVED it. You also helped me find 2 planetariums in my area. I never even knew they were around. He's having a blast!!!

Anyway, he really wants a telecope and I'm gonna get him one for X-mas. My dad recently got him a little toy scope. It has a 30mm lens and 15xmag. It's really not practical for seeing anything but birds and the moon but Cole treats it with respect and asks to go look at the moon almost every night. So I've found 2 kids scopes that look good to me. Can you help me decide since I really don't know much except what I read online?

Here are 2 links to the scopes:
This one has a larger lens and focal length....and price tag (go figure)
http://canon.telescopes.com/telescop...lreflector.cfm

This one has a smaller lens and focal length but I think would still be suitable for a young child....and is cheaper.
http://www.opticsplanet.net/bush-ts-785003.html

My son just wants to see the moon and get a look at some planets. So which scope do you think will be best?

Don't get the Bushnell. The bushnell telescopes are, from most accounts, horrible.

I'm not sure about the Meade one. It seems kind of expensive for a small 114mm telescope.

Orion has a similar model that might be a bit better. (more compact, shorter focal ratio, parabolic)
http://www.telescope.com/control/pro...oduct_id=09798
They also have a dobsonian version:
http://www.telescope.com/control/pro...oduct_id=09814

You might consider this one as well: http://www.telescope.com/control/pro...oduct_id=09804

Or even a 6" dob such as this: http://www.telescope.com/control/pro...oduct_id=09185 - it'll allow for some 'growing room', although the 4.5" might be nice; at that size, your 4 year old will soon be able to set it up himself - thus given him a sense of ownership in the scope.

Scroll down on this page: http://scopereviews.com/page1s.html there is a review on the 4.5" XT dob.

I appreciate this information as well. Scrkpr, your original post interested me because my nephew is four and while he's not quite at the level of your son regarding knowledge of astronomy, he's clearly very bright, and he enjoys the time I spend teaching him about the planets. One day, I told my sister-in-law that I read on an astronomy board online about a four-year-old who has been asking for a telescope for six months. My nephew heard, and then he asked for one! None of us in the family has one, but we have discussed the possibility of getting one for the family to share, as we all live in the same town. So the information in this thread may prove useful to us as well as to you.

I second what Siguy said, both about Bushnell and the Orion starblast.

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I got the Orion 4.5in Dob a few years ago for similar reasons, although I ended up using it more than my son did (a hazard of buying a scope, I guess). Even though it's marketed as a "kids" scope it's still plenty good enough for serious observing. If you plan on using it, you might consider putting it on a low, sturdy table.

Nick

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Nick Theodorakis

The orion starblast with the dob base is made with kids in mind. Its easy to set up, stable, and has very good optics. I think this would be a good choice for him.

Thanks for all the responses. Sorry it took me so long to get back to all of you. I've been in the hospital....but that's another story.


I checked out the links Siguy gave and I will get the Orion StarBlast. It's right in the same price range and is a better scope. Is a dob better for a little kid b/c it is low or when we go out to a field will it need a table?

Laurele I'm glad this thread can help you but sorry I hooked your nephew. My son is going to joing the local astronomy club at the next meeting; it's in a week. Of course, I have to see if they'll let a 4 y/o join. I might have to enroll for him. Last meeting they discussed filters (the most boring topic for kids) but they talked about light spectrums and prisms at the beginning. We've been fiddling with prisms for the last month. Not bad as far as I'm concerned.

A kid can use a 4.5 inch dob without a table. An adult will either want an adjustable observing chair (my preference) or something to sit the dob on (something solid)

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Don't be sorry; I'm the one responsible for getting him interested in the subject in the first place. He's not asking for a telescope all the time like your son; he only does it if someone mentions the idea. I did get him a toy diagram of the planets for the holidays, which I think he will enjoy.

Your son must be setting a record as the youngest person ever to join that astronomy club. How are the members reacting?

Scrkpr,
I'm sure they'll find a way to get your son in the club. Our club had two young members like him though they were a bit older when they joined. One is now heading up the design team for the Thirty Meter Telescope after being the head of the Optics Team that designed the two Gemini scopes. The other was one of the principal investigators involved in Deep Impact and a professor of planetary geology at Brown University. He's much seen on PBS and Discovery science shows.

We love to encourage young like him! They usually go far in life in whatever field they go into. Most keep astronomy a hobby if not a profession.

And I agree on the choice of a Starblast (The dob mounted one as the EQ one is a complication a kid doesn't need). It is normally aimed at an older kid but it would be a great match for him. In a few years a larger Dob might be better when he can set it and reach the eyepiece without dad's help. He needs one he can haul out himself. It may be a bit big and will need your help for a bit but he soon should handle the Starblast on his own. He likely needs to do as much as possible on his own but will want dad's constant interest to talk astronomy with as I doubt his friends will be as hooked as he is. He'll soon be making "major discoveries" he'll want to share with you. I just hope your back can take bending over all the time to share the view with him.

Rick