good affordable first telescope for 8yo dd?

[mtquinn]

My dd is turning 9 soon, and wants to start exploring the stars and planets. Can anyone recommend a good first telescope that is EASY TO USE, set up, and one that actually gives clear, bright images? Does one exist that is easily transportable and affordable?

 

[PurplePinkleEater]

If you want to spend $200-$300, Sam's Club usually has a pretty nice one.

 

[jessandtwo]

We bought the Celestron 21024 FirstScope Telescope for my 8 & 9 year old boys for Christmas. We ordered it from Amazon or Walmart. It works great, especially for the price.

 

[Leajess99]

Do not buy the ones that Toys R Us sells as they are just a waste. I bought my dd one of the $80 or so ones and it was the biggest waste of money.

 

[Minnie]

Check out the Discovery Channel website - youth telescopes.

We purchased DS one several years ago and found it was a great scope for the price

 

[buzz5985]

Do you live in an area with a amature astronomy club?? If you do they are a wealth of information. They usually have nights during the week at obervatories to view - for free. Also set up in local parks for observations - free. I would talk to someone there - there may be some used telescopes for sale.

Otherwise sometimes a good set of binoculars is just as good. My DS just earned his Astronomy Badge with Boy Scouts and that's what they did. Used binoculars in the back yard and had a star party.

 

[marlynnp]

The Astroscan is great for kids!!!

http://scientificsonline.com/produc...348112&cshift_ck=1914875385cs348112&WT.srch=1

 

[DizzyFORDisney]

My son just bought a Go Scope with his birthday money. We actually got it on sale for $99. He has been out there every night and has seen the moon, venus, saturn, and mars. Not bad!!
The cool thing about this scope is that is packs up into a nice looking backpack - he is excited to take this camping and to the mountains!

Can't go worng! Good Luck!

Here is a link to it: http://www.amazon.com/Orion-GoScope-70mm-Backpack-Telescope/dp/B001IX40ZY

 

[Stacy9402]

I was thinking about getting a telescope for my daughter for her birthday. So I am subscribing to this thread..

 

[Gigi22]

I wouldn't give a precision instrument to a child. A child can get a perfectly good view of the night sky using binoculars--the biggest problem you have is going to be light pollution from your surroundings. If you are in the country, and are not close to any big populated area, this would be less of a problem.
I would invest in a tripod that could be used to stabilize the binoculars.

 

[FLAngie]

The Astroscan is great for kids!!!

http://scientificsonline.com/produc...348112&cshift_ck=1914875385cs348112&WT.srch=1

My DD8 kids astronomy club professor recommended this same one. A lot if the kids have it, including my daughter, and I would recommend it in a heart beat. If you take a look at it, it doesn't really look like the traditional telescope. The mirrors inside are fixed so they can really take a beating and you won't be in having it repaired all the time. It also has a wider field of view and laser guide so that the kids can find their planets and stars a little easier.

 

[minniebeth]

Check out the Discovery Channel website - youth telescopes.

We purchased DS one several years ago and found it was a great scope for the price

We have a Discovery for Kids telescope and it is great for the price (can't remember how much, it's been a few years) It has held up really well and has been on many a camping trip and even trips to the beach. Easy to set up and use.