One of my earliest memories of the night sky was my first close up view of the moon, when a friend set up his best telescope for kids to look at the moon and the stars. When it was finally my turn to look through the kids telescope, I was amazed and astounded at the amount of detail that was revealed of the craters and mountains on the surface of the moon.
We are all familiar with the wonders of the night sky, like every time there is a full moon, or a lunar eclipse, or even when there is simply a dark clear night. The spectacular vision of the stars and the planets is truly awe inspiring. At least if that how it is for you, then what is better than to share that wonder with kids, and the best way to do it is with a telescope that children can use.
What are the features of the best telescope for kids?
The best telescope for kids will open up a whole new experience of the moon, the stars, and the other planets in the solar system. The best telescope for kids needs to be relatively easy to use, and tough enough to handle a little rougher treatment. The thing is that most kids have a short attention span, which is okay, but any telescope for children must be able to get results fast. This means that any kids telescope needs to be easy to aim and focus.
The best telescope for children needs to be robust!
It is a fact of life that kids may not look after a telescope properly, and that is okay also. The point is that the best telescope for kids must be robust enough to handle a few bumps without getting knocked out of optical alignment. Also, the tripod needs to be robust also because if the kids telescope wobbles around too much, then children may lose interest more quickly as they cannot focus properly.
Don’t buy the cheapest telescope for children
The problem with choosing the best telescope for kids is that the toy telescopes that are labelled as children’s telescopes, are actually only good as toys. They will only bring disappointment for your kids, and this is not a good introduction to the wonders of the universe. What we have tried to do in this review of the best telescope for kids is to choose quality telescopes for beginners that are suitable for children also.
We need to consider value for money when purchasing a telescope for children. If we buy the cheapest kids telescope, but then find it does not hold their interest, then it may not get used much. If you spend a little more to buy the best telescope for kids, you will find that they love using it more. For example, if they have fun using it for day time viewing of nature and the world around them, as well as for viewing the stars and planets at night, then that sounds like much better value for money. The fun and enjoyment that your children will get from using the best telescope for kids will pay itself back many times over!
Best telescope for kids review checklist
We have prepared a guide of the best telescope for kids review checklist. We have checked out a range of factors that might help you find the ideal telescope for children, in terms of cost, reliability, ease of use, and all round suitability for kids introduction to astronomy.
1. Celestron PowerSeeker 70AZ is a great telescope for children
Great views of the Moon and the Planets
Better still, if you choose the Celestron PowerSeeker as the best telescope for kids, it offers such high performance that it will continue to be used for many years. It comes with a 70 mm aperture, and a 3 times magnification lens, which means it focuses a large bright image, with fantastic details of the surface of the moon, as well as distant views of the larger planets such as Jupiter and Saturn.
The Celestron PowerSeeker is an easy telescope for children to use
The reason that Celestron make the best telescope for kids to use is that the PowerSeeker 70AZ is easy to unpack, set up and you can be using it straight away. This is the ideal telescope for children because it requires no tools to set it up, and even small fingers can operate the equipment.
Celestron PowerSeeker is the best telescope for kids
2. TwinStar AstroMark 50mm – ideal telescope for children
The TwinStar AstroMark 50mm telescope is one of the best telescope for kids to use because it is simple to sue, and operates on a simple point and focus basis. This is important for a kids telescope because children have a fast moving imagination, and need to be able to explore as much as possible, as fast as possible.
The TwinStar AstroMark is easy to aim
The TwinStar AstroMark is easy to point and focus as it comes with a simple to use tripod. This is important that children find it easy to use this telescope, and the tripod is an essential part of any telescope for children to use. The tripod and telescope operate on an altazimuth mount, which can be manually adjusted without the need for tools or complicated instructions manual.
The TwinStar AstroMark telescope is not a toy
The TwinStar AstroMark 50 mm is a suitable telescope for children as if provides a 50 mm aperture, and a magnification of between 30 times up to 75 times, which is excellent for a telescope of this size. The TwinStar AstroMark is also an excellent telescope for use during the day for nature lovers, or even as a compact telescope if you live in a small apartment.
The TwinStar AstroMark is not automatic
The only downside to the TwinStar AstroMark is that it does not have an automatic drive feature to follow the target object as it moves across the sky. But this is not such a problem, as the best telescope for kids should not be over complicated, and in any case, kids need to learn how to point and focus the telescope by themselves anyway!
Buy TwinStar AstroMark 50mm from Amazon
3. My First Lab Stargazer Children’s Telescope
The My First Lab Stargazer is a telescope for children that are designed to be sturdy, but simple. This is a very affordable telescope, yet it is effective, which will hold the attention of even the most distracted children. With quality glass optics on the inside and sturdy steel tube construction, this can handle a lot of rough treatment. Even the tripod and base are built of sturdy steel components without feeling too flimsy and fragile. This is a telescope for children to use and have fun with.
The My First Lab Stargazer offers a range of magnification levels from 45 times all the way up to 150 times, which is another example of how children will enjoy using this telescope. It is strong enough to see excellent details on the surface of the moon, as well as pick up the larger planets and hundreds of stars. Because this telescope is easy for children to operate, they will take no time at all before they can operate it themselves, and spend hours of fun exploring the universe.
Buy My First Lab Stargazer from Amazon
4. The TwinStar AstroMark portable refractor telescope
However, because the TwinStar AstroMark is much smaller and easier to move around, this is one of the best telescope for kids. You can take it on vacation, or away for the weekend, and use it from different locations, maybe where the air is clearer for even better views. It will keep the kids happy for hours, and the best part is, this refractor style telescope is great for day time viewing. The optical design of this refractor telescope for kids means that the image appears the right way up, instead of upside down, so it is suitable for looking at birds and animals, or anything else you wish to explore.
Don’t be fooled by the small tube length, this TwinStar AstroMark has an aperture of 80mm which provides a fantastic clear images with up to 40 times magnification.
What makes this the best telescope for kids:
The benefit of this best telescope for kids is that you can take it with you wherever you go, and it only needs a small tripod, so that you can set it up on the table or whatever is available.
Disadvantages:
It is fair to say that the optical quality of this telescope is not as good as other 80 mm telescopes, but with additional quality comes additional size, weight and cost.
It is also important to point out that little telescope has not been designed to follow the target object as it moves across the sky. This is not really a problem as even the best telescope for kids does not need this feature, and kids are not able stay focused on one thing for a long time anyway.
Buy TwinStar AstroMark Portable 80 mm Refractor from Amazon
CONCLUSION – BEST TELESCOPE FOR KIDS
The best telescope for kids needs to be sturdy and have great magnification power. It is very easy to find a children’s telescope that is affordable if you look around some of the options we have presented in the best telescope for kids review. Each of these telescopes can be purchased for around $200 or less, so it will not break the bank. We strongly recommend that you do not go for a toy telescope, because even if these are rated as suitable for kids telescopes, they tend to be poor quality, and get broken easily, which is simply a waste of money.
A better option is to select a telescope that can whet the appetite of your children and allow them to have a window into the wonders of the universe. If you think back to your own first experience with a telescope or your first close up view of the moon or the stars, then you will recall the feeling of wonder and exploration. You owe it to your children to make their first telescope experience a worthwhile and exciting experience.
Here are some of the offerings on our best telescope for kids review checklist, and in no particular order:
- Celestron PowerSeeker 70AZ is a great telescope for children
- TwinStar AstroMark 50mm – ideal telescope for children
- My First Lab Stargazer Children’s Telescope
- The TwinStar AstroMark portable refractor telescope – best telescope for kids
SidneyR
Apr 03. 2018
Using a telescope with kids is fun but you have to remain focused!
Kenneth
Apr 03. 2018
These are all excellent choices of telescope for kids – it is hard to know which is best