Star Astronomy

Astronomy for kids is an ideal opportunity for them to learn about space, stars, planets and galaxies to enable them to find out and discover about the planet they live on, the earth as well as the moon and other stars and planets.

Astronomy for kids should be both informative and fun. Building scale models of solar systems and encouraging them to look at the night sky to discover for themselves the enormity and beauty of the galaxies and stars will open their minds to enable them to grasp basic conceptions such as the lunar cycles, as well as incorporating how these effect the sea tides here on planet earth.

Children are exposed to a variety of films, TV programmes and video games which are based around spacecraft and other galaxies, by introducing them to the universe through astronomy it will enable them to distinguish between fact and fiction! Latest ‘buzz’ words such as cosmos, dark energy, and dark matter should all be put into relative context for them to easily understand. Many countries have observatories and information centres where children can have hands on experiences and the opportunity to look through telescopes. Many of these educational places also have virtual reality space trips which will grab the interest of boys and girls alike.

Summer camps and camping vacations are also an ideal opportunity of introducing astronomy to kids. Sitting around camp fires and gazing up at the different constellations can a great way to spend the evenings.

Astronomy for kids needs to be aimed at their appropriate age levels otherwise it may become too complicated and they will become frustrated and lose interest. Even toddlers are fascinated with aliens so introducing the subject of astronomy will engage and interest kids of all ages. There are some wonderful books aimed at kids who are interested in astronomy, such as ‘Kingdom of the Sun: A book of Planets’, in which the author uses the names of the planets and associates them with gods they were named after. ‘The Stars-A New Way to See Them’ is a brilliant book for introducing the topic of astronomy for kids and can be used to look for and name the most common star formations.

Older kids will be introduced to astronomy in school as an aspect of both their science and mathematics sessions and by already having an insight to the fascinating subject of astronomy for kids, which will enable them to further broaden their understanding and horizons!