telescope for a 5 year old???

Question

Does anyone know if fisher-price makes a telescope that would be somewhat operable by a 5 yr old? My daughter says she wants one for xmas but I am wondering if I will be able to find one that works well, but that she can help use too... thanks

Answer 1

This will mark the very first time I make a recommendation like this...
You might want to look at places like K-Mart or Walmart for a VERY beginner level telescope.
They don't cost too much (because they are generally of questionable quality).
Most 5- year- olds I know who got a telescope loved it at first, and then it pretty much got put on the back burner (or destroyed).
Remember, we're talking about a very young person here...
One of these scopes will give some very good images of the moon and terrestrial objects, and will probably even show some planetary details, but not REAL high- quality.
I might also recommend a decent pair of binoculars... They're much easier to carry, and the likelihood of it getting dropped on the ground its first night out is much lower.
I wish you the best of luck with this one...
Continue to encourage your 5- year- old's sense of wonder of the night sky.
You may just have a budding astronomer living in your home!

Answer 2

Wow -- so many possibilities! Don't limit it to just Fisher-Price. Also, she might find a pair of binoculars easier to handle. How serious is she (and you)? Budget ($10, $50, $250)?

Don't go for the "high power" 'scopes; the image you see is just too small and jiggly (and dim also). A "300x" is ridiculous, when 30X is more than enougth.

Meade, Tasco, and Bushnell are the major telescope retailers in the USA, but there's a lot of re-branding.

Answer 3

I don't know how much you are willing to spend, but you might consider the Celestron Explorascope 80 mm for about $60 on Amazon. Not a very good scope, but probably indestructible and capable of seeing things like the Moon, rings of Saturn, moons of Jupiter, etc. Celestron is a good outfit - if it arrives in good condition it's probably close to what you are looking for.

Good Luck -

Answer 4

Fisher-Price telescopes you wouldnt probably be able to see anything. (really crappy quality) I would consider looking at one of them beginer level telescopes at Wall-Mart, there fairly powerful enogh to get good imeages of the moon.

Answer 5

Kaleidoscope

Answer 6

Just give him a toilet paper roll. He won't know the difference.