November 1, 2007

Let's Get Our Kids Involved!



Astronomy is a rewarding, interesting, and ultimately fulfilling hobby. This hobby, as most involved know, is very kid friendly. Here are a few ideas for parents looking to get there kids involved in astronomy:



  1. 1.) Join an astronomy club. These clubs have meetings and usually some sort of educational presentation. They also have observing sessions at designated spots, and they also may host star parties, which are fun events for guests and other people to enjoy astronomy. Check these out at http://www.astronomyclubs.com/.

  1. 2.) If you join a club, or if you join the Astronomical League, you can complete observer challenges. These can be as simple as sketching the listed constellations, observing galaxies with binoculars, or even observing obscure nebulae with a 17" telescope.

3.) Learn a little and share it. My daughter was nearly excited as me when I showed her 17P/Holmes, and let's face it: if you didn't know what you were seeing, it wasn't that incredibly impressive. Her enthusiasm drew off my enthusiasm.



Astronomy is an important science and as technology advances, it is becoming more and more important each passing day. Who knows where the space program is going to be in fifteen years, but I know one thing: if there are great opportunities in the space program available in the future, I would love my kids to have a passion for that branch of science.