12 Easy Ways to Get your Kids Excited about Astronomy

Children and astronomy: these are two things that just go really well together. Because children have two unique abilities that we adults have often lost.

Which are they?

They are curious and they can still be amazed.

So what could be more appropriate than the infinite universe? It's exactly the opposite view to a smartphone: not down , but up . There is much more to discover here.

In this article, I'll show you how to help children:

• enthusiastic about astronomy and Uscamel telescopes
• encourage them to go outside with you
• bring nature and knowledge closer

But do children really care?

Wait, let me tell you first: One afternoon years ago, when I looked across the grounds of our observatory, I saw as many children as there were in a school class. Oh, there were as many as four school classes at once. The sun was burning hot this summer, the fields smelled of hay out here at the observatory and two hundred hungry pairs of eyes were waiting curiously for the first stars.

We didn't expect it.

Where did the children come from?

At that time we did something in our astro club: we started a holiday camp at the observatory, which we registered with the VHS. We wanted to show the stars to children of all ages. Space was limited to 20 children. It was already fully booked on the first day of registration. The VHS lady kept calling to expand the list of participants if possible. So there was a big event of Astrokids, who all wanted one thing: learn more about the stars. Apparently they were just waiting for the right offer.

This experience shows that every child has a dormant interest in the universe, all you have to do is spark it and actively show them the stars.

Way 1: Get to know the constellations with children

Today, few people know anything about the starry sky. How many people do you know who can explain the stars to you on a mild summer evening? If you don't have an amateur astronomer at home, then probably not many.

Pass on the ancient knowledge of constellations to your children. You don't know much about constellations yourself? Then explore the sky together.

This can be done with a rotating star map . This is an item you should have at home.

First you will discover the Big Dipper, then the North Star and finally the famous Summer Triangle.

Each night you spend in the stars with your children, your shared knowledge grows.

Path 2: An exciting night hike with children

Have you ever gone on a night hike with your children?

Everything that is not part of everyday life is also exciting. At least for children. If you tell them about a night hike, they'll be red-faced with excitement.

Then, when they normally sleep, they are allowed to wander through the night with their parents.

This appeals to completely different senses in children than during the day. How does the coolness feel? How does nature smell? Perhaps you are walking past the forest on a dirt road. What are you listening to? Maybe a tawny owl?

Nature at night is just as much a part of the experience as looking at the stars themselves. Let your kids find a way to the darkest place where the stars are best seen. And then look up together.

• Where's the Big Dipper?
• Who discovers the brightest stars first and what are their names?
• Try together imaginatively to recognize the figures of the constellations
• Where is the band of the Milky Way?

On the way back, answer questions about why the universe is so big or why the stars shine.

Way 3: Sleep in the night of the meteors

Every day, more than 10 tons of extraterrestrial material, from dust grains to small boulders, burn up in the earth's atmosphere. When a very small object thunders through the atmosphere, it burns up about 70 kilometers up and produces a glow. A meteor.

Shooting stars are among the most beautiful discoveries in the night sky. Many people make a wish when they see one. They're not all that rare if you know where to look.

Because several times a year there are so-called meteor showers, which come from clouds of matter in the solar system and cross the path of the earth. When they do that, not just one, but up to a hundred shooting stars burn up every hour.

The Perseids are the most famous meteor shower that you can admire every year on the night of August 11th or 12th.

How exactly do you do that?

Spend the night with your children in your garden or in a friend's garden if you don't have one of your own.

Everyone sets up a lounger, slips under the covers or into their sleeping bags and then looks at the sky.

We've been doing this in our family for years. Everyone keeps an eye out and usually, when the others are almost falling asleep, one of them will wake someone else up with a surprised exclamation when another particularly beautiful meteor streaks across the sky.

An unforgettable experience.

Way 4: Children's books about space

Do we still read at all? If you've made it this far, then: congratulations. You belong.

But children and adults who still pick up a book and read it today belong to an extraordinary group. Unfortunately. The number of people who read regularly was just 12.9 million in 2019. It has fallen by 1.2 million people in just 4 years (source: Statistics).

Novels and non-fiction books open up worlds for us: the world of fantasy and the world of knowledge.

Want to make sure your kids are among the readers?

Then give them a children's book on astronomy or a large atlas about the universe .

Maybe you do a little reading every day in the early evening or as a bedtime treat?

After all, the world of books is not lost yet, because according to a study, 61% should still read regularly.

Way 5: Visit to an observatory

The best food for chipmunks is a diet alternating between nuts and protein for strength.

We as astro fans also need a refreshment. Regulary.

The community with like-minded people, for example in an observatory. A visit to an observatory is exciting.

There you can stargaze with other people, and you have the opportunity to look at planets and nebulae and galaxies through a giant telescope.

There are observatories in almost every major city and also often in the country. There is bound to be one near you. When the weather is good, there is usually a public observation evening once a week. How about a trip with the kids during the holidays?

In this directory you will find all registered observatories in Germany.

Way 6: A telescope for children and young people

caught fire? I mean in the observatory?

Then it's time for your own telescope. What could be nicer than exploring the stars yourself. Just finding an object that you would never have seen with the naked eye is exciting.

With us you will find a lot of nice beginner telescopes for children that are fun for the whole family. Take a look around.

Smaller Dobsonian telescopes that you can place on a table or small pedestal are suitable for children. Advantage: The telescope is quickly transported and set up and your child can move it in all axes without prior knowledge or training. A Dobsonian is the telescope that is most intuitive to use. No patience, but get started immediately. That's why it's perfect for kids.

Wouldn't that be an item on your birthday or Christmas wish list?

Way 7: A family outing on the Planet Trail

Do you know what an astronomer's exercise trail is?

It's a planet trail.

You are on the move, strolling easily through the solar system and brushing up on your knowledge from planet to planet.

But one point is even more important: How do you explain to your child how big the solar system is? There are models on the computer, you can try to show how huge the sun is and how small our earth is. But what about the distances?

We can say the distances so succinctly, but we cannot imagine them. It's easy with a planet path though.

In many cities, they were created by the municipalities, schools or associations. We start a journey of several kilometers from the huge sun and move from planet to planet until we finally arrive at the outer limit, the planet Neptune.

Find out if there is a Planet Trail near you. Just enter the following in Google: planet path + [city near you]

Way 8: Visit to a children's show in the planetarium

Bad weather but still want to do astronomy? How about cinema? But for the stars.

This day is made for a planetarium. As in a theater or movie theater, a star theater has many rows of chairs, a large projector in the center, and a huge white dome arching over you.

Here you can realistically simulate the starry sky and every event in the universe. Before long, you don't even realize you're in a hall, you're completely immersed in space.

This list informs you which planetariums there are in Germany.

Way 9: Make astronomical crafts with your kids

Picasso once said: "Every child is an artist..."

Well, since he was also a fabulous artist, he should know. Let your kids be artists and builders and make astronomical things.

How does it work?

With astronomical craft kits . Exactly, because there are a lot of them. How about sitting down together at your crafting table and building a real telescope out of cardboard? Or a starry sky? Or a Copernicus planetarium that has real mechanics and rotates?

Of course, you can also get creative yourself and come up with something astronomical. In our group of boys at the observatory, for example, we invented an astronomical board game with lots of astro questions.

In any case, there is no boredom, your children will have fun and fine motor skills will be trained at the same time.

Way 10: Astronomical and child-friendly films

Watch movies? Serious? You can do that sometimes too. And an astronomical film is also something you can learn a lot from.

There are some films that are well suited for children.

From the well-known WAS IST WAS series, there is a film about our central star "The Sun", a film about the "Stars" and another about "Moon and Cosmos". Space topics are of course also interesting, such as the DVD "Planets and space travel".

Of course, television stations also have something to offer: such as the well-known children's program "Löwenzahn" on ZDF . There it was often about space. Just have a look around in the media library.

Way 11: Science-Fiction and Fiction-Science

From 2022, very rich people will be able to book a stay in a luxury hotel.

What should be special about it?

It doesn't stand on earth, but is in space in a new space station. In Orion Span's space hotel you can book a 12-day stay including flight for a mere 9.5 million US dollars - of course with all the amenities that space has to offer. There should even be a holodeck like in Star Trek on the spaceship Enterprise. However, you will not meet Captain Jean-Luc Picard there.

If that's too expensive for a family stay or "still" sounds too much like science fiction: How about fantastic stories about the future or stories related to science? This is how many people got into the hobby of astronomy. Your children will certainly be enthusiastic about this.

For some time now there has been an interesting children's book series "The little Major Tom" , which has been published by Tessloff Verlag since 2018. The series is a collaboration between author Bernd Flessner and the German Aerospace Center, which is responsible for the correct scientific facts within the story. Volume 1 is about the life of little Major Tom on a space station. When his father has to leave for a mission, Major Tom and his girlfriend Stella are completely on their own. But suddenly space debris threatens to hit the station. It might be the most difficult task the children have ever had to face.

With the new children's book series Kepler62 something very similar: the two brothers Ari and Joni play a computer game in which something great is supposed to happen at the end. Suddenly a boy is in front of the door and invites her on a space mission.

Way 12: Mythology of the Constellations

While we're at stories. There are also brave heroes in the starry sky who have had to solve many a task. In gratitude they were placed in the firmament forever.

Each constellation has at least one or even more stories in Greek mythology.

Like these: Orion was always a proud and energetic hunter. He enjoyed it so much that he made it his mission to hunt any animal that he saw. But this displeased Gaia, the goddess of the earth, so she sent a scorpion to destroy Orion once and for all. He stabbed, because it was no longer possible to save Orion's life, both were transferred to heaven, where they still hunt each other today. For whenever Orion sets in the west, Scorpio rises in the east. Watch it yourself.

If you are looking for input for a book about the mythology of the constellations, then simply follow our recommendations.

A great side effect: your children listen spellbound and automatically learn about the constellations. And maybe you just want to develop the stories together with your children.

Out to the stars

Those were our 12 ways your kids will become Astro fans. And now use these tips. Do astronomy at home, take your kids or the whole family with you. And then head out into the country and gaze at the stars.

PS: With us you will find a lot of nice beginner telescopes for children that are fun for the whole family. Take a look around.

Extension reading: With Binoculars Activities Even More Fun