How Young can a Kid Own a Scope?

How young can a child be, and "own" a telescope in any meaningful
sense of the word?

One post here recently asked about a scope as a present for a 5-year-old,
which is clearly totally out of the question. Another asked about an
8-year-old, which seems conceivable in some special cases. I am curious
about other people's experience.

One thing I think we can all agree on is that you shouldn't buy a
scope for anybody younger than a teenager unless you are willing to
invest a very substantial amount of time and energy learning to use
the scope yourself, and then teaching and assisting the child. The
only exception I can imagine is if there is something like a club
setting to provide support -- in which case, the child presumably
already knows how to use a scope, and will tell you exactly what
he or she wants.

I have met some children who are very accomplished astronomers,
like Mimi Wagner (featured on the cover of the Sept 200 S&T)
who had independently found and observed all of the Messier
objects at age 11. And then there was one amusing encounter
I had when I was working a star party at a school. Towards
the end, this kid (maybe 10) comes up to me, and asks:

Him: What's your favorite planet?
Me: Hems and haws, and eventually settles for Jupiter.
Him: My favorite planet is Pluto.
Me: (trying to be polite) Have you ever seen it?
Him: Sure, lots of times. My dad owns an 18-inch telescope.

He was, of course, the son of one of the other people working
the star party, which comes back to my previous point about
lots of help and support from an adult. But in a case like
this, the child will probably have been ooking through your
scope long before the issue of owning his/her scope ever arises.

But how about the typical case that comes up on s.a.a., where the
parent doesn't know much about astronomy, but understands that
buying a scope for a kid will demand a lot from the kid and even
more from the parent. How young can the child be? Eight? Ten?
Twelve? Any ideas, any experience?

- Tony Flanders

Problem is that age is only one variable. There
are billions of adults who will never meaningfully
own a scope. Unless the child expresses an interest
or a nerdy bent, an unskilled parent trying to instill
astronomical interest is taking a shot in the dark.
I don't see a way around it.

OTOH, such a parent may be revealing a latent
interest of his/her own. It may be wise, in
recommending a scope, to keep the parent in mind,
because the parent is the more likely immediate
convert. With luck, the kid may someday follow.

-Larry Curcio

My view is that each child is different and some may well be very capable nd
interested at surprisingly young ages. Got to know the child in question....

I think at a young age a scope like an ST-80 that can be used not only for
astronomy but for looking at just about anything is probably best.

jon

jon

Problem is that age is only one variable.

I would have killed for a telescope when I was five. When I was five, I
already had a small microscope and was using it meaningfully. I knew all the
organs in the human body and where they were. I was a science junkie.
Unfortunately, I did not get my first telescope (and that a department store
junker) until I was a teenager. We could't afford one, being on the edge of
poverty.

Mark
The Catman
^..^

www.geocities.com/mark_rosengarten
Owner/Coordinator of the Neko Ultraportable Solar Observatory
Fun WITH The Sun for Everyone!

I agree John, with a red dot finder and a "correct image" prism so
everything is oriented correctly. A slight loss of light won't matter
compared to make it easier to find things...

"Jon Isaacs" wrote in message
...

My view is that each child is different and some may well be very capable
nd
interested at surprisingly young ages. Got to know the child in
question....

I think at a young age a scope like an ST-80 that can be used not only for
astronomy but for looking at just about anything is probably best.

jon

jon

Tony Flanders wrote:

[...]

How young can a child be, and "own" a telescope in any meaningful
sense of the word?

Based upon research conducted at the John C. Deibel Advanced Institute
for Telecope Sales and Marketing, a Dr. Xavier Cleon Howchee Lester
conducted extensive testing beginning (and ending) in the year 1969 on
this precise topic.


His conclusion, in brief, and published in the peer reviewed JOSP
[Journal of Stupid Science] was that the ideal age for male children
was 11.4 yrs, and for female children the answer was 10.3 years. This
seminal study was later repeated at the Michael Jackson Neverland
Ranch Institute and those published results still await review by
The District Attorney of that region. Speculation is that his
deterministic approach concluded that Dr. Lester was off by one order
of magnitude, but Dr. M. Garagos has thus far disputed this assertion.


My bottom line: If the child shows genuine interest, has demonstrated
both the mechanical and intellectual aptitude, and won't be using said
instrument to peep at neighbors, age is not the most critical
benchmark. Maturity, some patience and a demonstrated ability to not
switch interests every week would be far more enlightening. Some
neighbor peeping may however be inevitable. Boys will be boys, after all.

Finally, and in conclusion, exposing a child to what they're actually
likely to see, as opposed to the 4CP photos on the boxes and marketing
materials of many a telescope manufacturer/dealer, would also be most
useful and make the Telescope v. Gameboy decision far more meaningful.


--
-John Steinberg
email: lid

-= I link therefore I'm spammed =-

Yup. And you likely expressed an interest,
or would have if asked. In that case
buying you a scope might not have been
so risky. (Still, you might not have been
able to find the exit pupil at that age.)

Perhaps I emphasized the risky side,
and not the other. Yes. If a child
expresses an interest, the age may be
right.


-Larry Curcio

Mark Rosengarten wrote:

Problem is that age is only one variable.

I would have killed for a telescope when I was five. When I was five, I
already had a small microscope and was using it meaningfully. I knew all the
organs in the human body and where they were. I was a science junkie.
Unfortunately, I did not get my first telescope (and that a department store
junker) until I was a teenager. We could't afford one, being on the edge of
poverty.

Mark
The Catman
^..^

www.geocities.com/mark_rosengarten
Owner/Coordinator of the Neko Ultraportable Solar Observatory
Fun WITH The Sun for Everyone!

Similar story for me. Had a junk microscope (tasco) at 6. I used it,
my brother's chemistry set, and tasco 60mm scope at the same age to
learn a boatload. Back then (aging myself here) you could get a good
chem set from Sears. The manual was amazingly well-written. Made my
own 8" GEM from scratch (bought the secondary and focuser) in high
school. I'll never forget the first night using the tasco. I didn't
understand polar alignment and my brother wasn't into helping me
figure it out. At that age, I was able to achieve very effective use
of both tasco junkers. Some kids have a lot of patience. Some don't.

Now, on to the question. A parent should be able to determine when
their child is ready for a telescope. Is the child responsible?
Dextrous? Can the child effectively use binoculars? Does the child
have patience? Young children can learn amazingly fast. I would hope
that the parents would be interested in teaching the child how to use
a scope - especially the rule about looking at the sun. I would have
loved an ST-80 or similar at the age of six. What a nice package for
the money.

On 06 Dec 2003 13:29:49 GMT, elete (Mark
Rosengarten) wrote:

Problem is that age is only one variable.

I would have killed for a telescope when I was five. When I was five, I
already had a small microscope and was using it meaningfully. I knew all the
organs in the human body and where they were. I was a science junkie.
Unfortunately, I did not get my first telescope (and that a department store
junker) until I was a teenager. We could't afford one, being on the edge of
poverty.

Mark
The Catman
^..^

www.geocities.com/mark_rosengarten
Owner/Coordinator of the Neko Ultraportable Solar Observatory
Fun WITH The Sun for Everyone!

How young can a child be, and "own" a telescope in any meaningful
sense of the word?

Hi:

My daughter was about 9 when Pat Rochford and I did her a 6 inch f/8 dob with
Parks optics. She has just really enjoyed it, and was able to set it up by
herself pretty much from the beginning. For kids, I think a Telrad is a
must...it meant that she could locate bright objects with some ease from the
beginning. We also put a good but inexpensive focuser on it, a 2 inch JMI
Reverse Crayford. For kids, "steady, easy to aim, easy to focus" are very
important traits in a scope, and usually not present in the scopes they are
given.

She took to this scope like the proverbial duck to water, and really didn't
want too much of my "help," but she's grown up around this business, and must
have absorbed a lot just through osmosis.

Oh, there is the "creating a monster aspect." Last time she went observing
with me she said, "You know, Daddy, I like your C11 MUCH BETTER THAN MY SCOPE!"
:-)



Peace,
Rod Mollise
Author of _Choosing and Using a Schmidt Cassegrain Telescope_
Like SCTs and MCTs?
Check-out sct-user, the mailing list for CAT fanciers!
Goto http://members.aol.com/RMOLLISE/index.html

A child is old enough to own a telescope when THEY truly want to have one as
opposed to the PARENT truly wanting them to have one.

--
Martin
Remove "ilikestars" from my email address to reply