Best Telescope For Kids
Without a doubt, one of the best ways to develop our children’s imagination is to give them the best telescope for kids, and teach them all about the wonders of the universe. Certainly, for me, one of my earliest memories of using a kids telescope was the first time I saw the Moon up close. I was absolutely astounded at the close up detail of the surface of the Moon, and the craters and the terrain that I never realized were possible to see through the best telescope for kids.
And that is just the beginning, when it comes to astronomy! We all share an interest in the wonders of the universe, and who doesn’t look in awe at a beautiful full moon, or a wondrous clear night sky? There is no more beautiful view than gazing at the millions of stars on a cloudless evening sky. If you want to share the wonders of the universe with your kids, then what better way than to buy the best telescope for kids!
What is the best telescope for kids?
The best telescope for kids doesn’t have to be an huge or expensive set up, but there are some brilliant beginner telescopes these days that provide a wonderful introduction to the world of astronomy. The best telescope for kids needs to be easy to use, but sturdy enough to handle a little robust treatment. A kids telescope needs to be able to handle a few bumps without sending the mirrors out of alignment! The tripod also needs to be robust enough to keep the telescope steady. The best tripod should prevent the telescope from bumping and vibrating, which helps to keep the telescope in better focus.
The best telescope for children needs to be easy to use!
The most important thing about a children’s telescope is that it must be able to focus quickly on the target so that kids don’t get bored. Kids may have a short attention span, so the best telescope for kids must be easy to lock on to the target quickly and easily. This means that a kids telescope should be easy to aim and focus. The tripod needs to have simple azimuth and altimuth control wheels so that kids can control the telescope with ease.
Don’t buy the cheapest telescope for children
Beware of looking to buy a toy telescope that is labelled as the best telescope for kids. Often the cheap and nasty toy telescopes are only good for toys and will be a disappointment for your children. Instead, here at ImagiPlay, we want to make sure that you can make an informed decision to buy the best telescope for kids. We have selected a range of good quality telescopes that are suitable for children and even for beginners. These telescopes for children represent value for money, and will no break the bank!
The thing about the best telescope for kids is that it has to provide a good experience for kids, or else they will get bored and not use the telescope. The risk it if you don’t spend enough money, then it becomes a waste of money! Is there is a risk of spending too much money? No such thing as spending too much money on a telescope – the sky is the limit!
Here is our list of Best telescope for kids reviews:
Here is a list of the best telescope for kids reviews, which have been carefully selected to offer excellent views of the Moon, Planets an stars, without costing the Earth. We have chosen a short list of kids telescopes according to the cost, reliability, and how easy the telescope is for kids to use.
1. The TwinStar AstroMark portable refractor telescope
Don’t be fooled by the appearance of the small and compact TwinStar portable telescope. Even though it comes in a neat package, and what appears to be a very short tube length, this is an internal refractor telescope with a massive 80 mm aperture. Generally speaking, the wider the aperture of a telescope, the larger the magnification, and the reason we have selected this as a contender for best telescope for kids is that is provides an incredible 40 times magnification factor, which is enough to keep kids of all ages interested!
Why is this best telescope for kids?
The TwinStar AstroMark is an excellent compact design which makes it easier to use and easier to transport. It is one of the best telescope for kids because you can take it with you during vacations, or during weekends away from home. 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.
It will entertain the kids for hours, and the best part is this refractor style telescope can also be used for day time viewing. Excellent for views of birds, animals, and mountains, this telescope provides images in the correct orientation, which is something not all telescopes do.
What makes this the best telescope for kids:
It is fair to say that the optical quality of this telescope is not as good as other 80 mm telescopes. But that should come as no surprise, because this telescope does not cost anywhere near as much as the top of the range 80 mm aperture telescopes. It doesn’t have the additional size, weight and complexity either.
This little telescope does not have the ability to track the target object as it moves across the sky. This is not really a problem as even the best telescope for kids will not have an automatic tracking computer, as this level of technology is only available at the top end of the market.
Buy the TwinStar AstroMark Portable 80 mm Refractor from Amazon.
2. Celestron PowerSeeker 70AZ – best telescope for kids
Celestron is a renowned manufacturer of telescopes for children and the PowerSeeker 70 AZ is a high quality telescope. The Celestron PowerSeeker is affordable, and suitable for use by children. However, the PowerSeeker is certainly not a toy telescope. The reason we recommend it as one of the best telescope for kids is because it has a sturdy construction, and it comes with a lower price range that is affordable for children.
Best Telescope for kids to see the Moon and the Planets
The Celestron PowerSeeker is the best telescope for kids because it gives a high magnification that will be attractive now and for many years to come. The Celestron comes with a 70 mm aperture, and a 3 times magnification lens. This provides a large bright image, with excellent views of the moon, as well as distant views of the planets such as Mars, Venus, Jupiter and even Saturn.
The Celestron PowerSeeker is an easy telescope for children to use
The best telescope for kids should be easy for kids to unpack, set up, focus and use. This is the ideal telescope for children because it requires no tools to set it up, and it is easy to aim and focus.
The Celestron PowerSeeker 70AZ is the best telescope for kids – click here to see the price.
3. Celestron 21023 Cometron FirstScope
But if you like Celestron telescopes for kids – and we certainly do – then this is an excellent telescope to go for. As the name suggests, it is an excellent choice for a kids first telescope, and offers the vest results for a very simple and easy to use telescope.
There have been hundreds of happy users who have bought this telescope and been happy with the performance. Most people report that they bought it for their children or grandchildren and they love using it! That is the kind a recommendation we are looking for.
With a very generous aperture of 76 mm, and weighing in at less than 3 kilograms, this is a small telescope for children to use, but offers stunning magnification and excellent clear images.
Your kids will love using this telescope – check out the Celestron 21023 Cometron FirstScope at Amazon.
4. 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 easy to operate, aim and focus. This is important for a kids telescope because children have a quick imagination, and also get bored quickly so they need to keep focused.
The TwinStar AstroMark is easy to aim
The TwinStar AstroMark is simple to make azimuth adjustments 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 kids to operate. The Twinstar AstroMark telescope operates on an altazimuth tripod mount, which can be adjusted by kids without the need for tricky gizmos or intricate guidebook.
The TwinStar AstroMark telescope is not a toy
The TwinStar AstroMark 50 mm is an excellent telescope for children as if comes with a 50 mm aperture, and a magnification factor of between 30 times up to 75 times, which is excellent for a small telescope. The TwinStar AstroMark can also be used for terrestrial viewing for when your kids want to use it during the day.
The TwinStar AstroMark does not have auto tracking
The only negative to the TwinStar AstroMark that we could find is that it does not have auto tracking. But this is not such a problem, as the best telescope for kids does need to be too difficult to operate. We always find that it is best for kids to learn how to focus and aim their telescope the good old fashioned way!
Buy TwinStar AstroMark 50mm from Amazon.
5. My First Lab Stargazer Children’s Telescope
My First Lab Stargazer is one of the best telescope for kids, that was purpose built as a proper telescope for children rather than as a toy telescope. This means it was built for quality and durability. It is certainly better than a toy telescope, but doesn’t cost as much as a professional telescope.
The My First Lab Stargazer was designed to be robust, but simple to use. It is an affordable telescope for children, but it is also very functional, to keep kids attention focused on the stars. As evidence that it is not a toy telescope, it comes with quality glass optics on the inside and solid steel tube on the outside. Even the tripod is built of sturdy steel components so it can handle kids treatment. This telescope does not feel shaky and fragile.
The My First Lab Stargazer has a good magnification up to 150 times, which is enough for kids to have a stunning view of the moon, and the closer planets. The Stargazer telescope is easy for kids to aim and focus, and they can operate it all by themselves. The Stargazer is a telescope for children to use and to kindle their imagination about the wonders of astronomy.
Buy My First Lab Stargazer from Amazon.
6. Orion 10012 SkyScanner 100mm TableTop Reflector Telescope
But now we come to my outright favorite for the best telescope for kids – the Orion 10012 SkyScanner. As the name suggests, this fantastic telescope is small and compact enough to sit on a table top, so there is no trouble using it anywhere around your home or backyard.
In fact, there is no reason why this telescope should be considered as a telescope for children only, as it offers performance that serious astronomers would be impressed with. For example, it provides high quality glass optical components and no plastic pieces such as toy telescopes are made with. But the most impressive feature is the massive 100 mm aperture, which is normally only found in much larger telescopes. The Orion 10012 SkyScanner costs a little more than some of the best telescopes for kids, but the performance is outstanding!
Check out the latest price on the Orion 10012 SkyScanner telescope at Amazon.
Conclusion – Best Telescope for Kids
The best telescope for kids needs to have a good magnification factor, but it also needs to be simple for kids to use. But don’t go for the cheapest telescope. It is very easy to find a children’s telescope that is affordable if you check our list of the best telescope for kids. These telescopes can be purchased for around $200 or less, which is quite affordable when you consider the enjoyment that a telescope offers. Toy telescopes are not the best option for kids telescopes, as they do not work properly, which is simply a waste of money.
The best telescope for kids should fire the imagination of your children to see the wonders of the galaxy. Imagination the look on kids’ faces when they get their first close up view of the moon or the planets!
Make an impact on your kid’s imagination and buy the best telescope for kids to give them a truly memorable experience.