Here are the best space and astronomy toys and gifts for kids, perfect for the young astro enthusiasts.
Most kids are obsessed with space; they love hearing stories about planets, stars, and moons. In fact, most kids in elementary school are often riveted by rocket flights and space exploration.
More educators are also proposing that astronomy and outer space become an integral part of STEM education. Giving kids opportunities to explore space technologies would boost their interest in general engineering, math, and science (STEM).
Related: Best STEM Toys for kids
Here are some excellent toys and books on space and astronomy that will provide them with great information and will fire up their imagination.
Star Maps & Kits for Kids
If you ever plan on going star gazing with your kids, you will need a star chart to guide you.
A star chart is helpful in identifying the objects in the sky. There are many elements in the sky that your child will want to know of.
Plus, with the earth rotating and revolving around the sun, the elements and position of these elements are never constant. That’s when a star chart helps you identify one element from the other.
Star charts are also made for the northern and southern hemispheres and different latitudes to correctly identify in the sky.
You can lay the foundation for your kid to be a good astronomer by getting him/her some very useful star charts, books and kits for Kids to help them know more about the objects in the sky.
Star charts are the most useful guides for observing the sky at night. These charts are not very detailed owing to the restriction of space to fit all the information on one chart. Nevertheless, it is a great tool for on the field star gazing. A large star chart would be ideal.
These are made of plastic or are planisphere and some others are even laminated. For those who complain about the star charts not being detailed enough, it is available in a book form also. So, you can get the star chart book for classroom purposes if you wish to provide students with additional information.
Playz Premium Solar System Model Kit for Kids
Suitable for ages 4+, the Playz Premium Solar System Model Kit allows kids to build a solar system model with a four-speed motor, a HD planetarium projector, and eight painted planets. You can also paint your own planets with the included paint set and brush.
This toy teaches concepts such as orbits, rotations, and eclipses of the planets, as well as the constellations and stars.
4M Glow Planets & Nova Stars
This STEM toy set includes nine paper planets and twenty glow-in-the-dark stars, along with adhesive for attaching them. These soft foam glow-in-the-dark objects can be used to decorate the walls and ceiling of a child’s room with a solar system theme.
These also help to provide comfort to a child who is afraid of the dark. Recommended for ages 3 years and up.
Stargazer Guide Books and Kits
This is a basic kit ideal for an amateur star gazer. The kit includes 2 kits of basic supply that an amateur star gazer would need. It is always recommended that those who are just starting off with star gazing opt for a binoculars before buying a telescope along with these star gazing books and kits. Some star gazing kits are definitely better suited than the field guides however the only complaint would be that the chart is a bit smaller than ideal.
Orion Stargazer Tool Kit
The Orion Stargazer Tool kit is an interesting mix of items such as the Discover The Stars book, Star Target Planishphere, Moon Map Book and an aviator’s flash light. The book, Discover The Stars, written by Richard Berry contains useful information about the sky maps, charts, it explains the use of planisphere and adjustable star chart, gives inputs on stargazing, telescope and the universe. The kit also contains a Moon map that helps identify the craters and other features on the moon and the aviator flash light helps see in the dark. The aviator flashlight helps especially when you go out stargazing in the dark.
Astro-Pack
Before you set out to buy a telescope, you should buy the Astro-Pack Kit. This kit includes a star finder, star chart, night sky and planisphere. The Night Sky through your telescope contains all the basic information an astronomer would want including information on star photography, the best telescope accessory, tips on how to use the planisphere or star chart and ways to set up a telescope.
Guide to the Stars
Previously known as David H. Levey Guide to the stars, this is a 16” diameter star chart or planisphere. It includes north observation of 30 – 60 degrees including North America, Canada, England, Europe, Japan and Northern China. Designed for kids as well as experienced star gazers, the chart works by rotating the top portion to align the stars with current month, day and time to see the location of the stars, constellations and other astronomical features. There is also a 11” size available for those who don’t want the 16”. There is information on both sides of the chart.
Turn Left at Orion: Hundreds of Night Sky Objects to See in a Home Telescope and How to Find Them
Turn Left at Orion: Hundreds of Night Sky Objects to See in a Home Telescope & and How to Find Them is a popular book on astronomy. You can catch the updated new edition that contains more information on charts, information on photography equipment and charts on natural occurrences such as lunar and solar eclipses. It is liked due to the features that show how an object will look through different scopes. It is a great book if you are a amateur astronomer. Its spiral binding makes it easier for field use.
Astronomy Binoculars
If you like to look to the heavens even just occasionally get yourself some decent binoculars. Binoculars are inexpensive, highly portable and require no complicated setting up procedure so are ideal for casual astronomy.
Binoculars allow excellent moon views, and great viewing of star fields, comets and even deep sky objects. They are especially useful for beginners as unlike astronomy telescopes they keep the view the the right way up, making it really easy to navigate the skies and spot planets.
Binoculars have two specifications marked on the body of the binocular in the form of 7x 50, where the first number represents the magnification (in this case 7 times) and the second the aperture in millimeters (50mm in this case). When it comes to selecting the right binoculars for astronomy, aperture is the most important feature to think about. The bigger the aperture the more light is captured so the brighter and clearer the image will be. For astronomy use you will need at least 40mm aperture and preferably larger.
You will need a magnification factor of at least 7, maybe up to 10 if you have a steady hand. Any higher than about 10 times magnification and you will need to mount your binoculars on a tripod as the hand shake effect makes it difficult to get a sharp image.
There are giant binoculars available with higher magnifications and apertures which are designed for astronomy use but you will certainly need a sturdy tripod or mount to use them. These can offer excellent viewing up to about 25 times magnification with 100mm apertures.
The ‘exit pupil’ specification refers to the diameter of the shaft of light that exits the eyepieces and into your eyes. You can easily calculate it by dividing the aperture by the magnification so that 7 x 50 binocular has an exit pupil of just over 7mm. Capturing as much of that as possible is good as it means all the available light is getting to where you want it, i.e.your eye. If you are still in your twenties you can probably use all of that 7mm exit pupil mentioned above as your pupils will dilate to about that size in very dark conditions, however, as you get older your pupil does not dilate more than about 4 to 5 mm so large exit pupils are wasted (though it starts to make those 25x 100’s look good!).
You might notice another specification marked on the binocular, the field of view (FOV), it refers to the apparent side to side view as you look through the binoculars. It will be expressed as an angle in degrees or a measure such as 340 feet at 1000 yards. For astronomy use we can generally ignore that factor, it really does not matter a great deal at the distances we’ll be viewing at.
Fun Facts About Astronomy
Astronomy is a fun science-filled with many astronomy fun facts. This includes information about the size of stars and the distance of our earth from the center of our own Milky Way galaxy.
Astronomy fun facts about our own star, the sun, are almost endless. It’s somewhere between 91 and 94.5 million miles away from our home planet. It’s not that nobody knows for certain. It’s that the Earth orbits the sun in an elliptical, uneven, orbit. The distance fluctuates throughout that orbit.
Astronomy fun facts about our average sized sun’s size. As average as it is it accounts for about 98% of all the matter in the solar system. Everything else, counting the earth and all the planets, is a tiny 2%. Over 1.6 million earths would fit inside this star. An AU is the distance from the Earth to the Sun. The solar winds extend 50 AU’s from the sun.
Shall we turn to some astronomy fun facts that don’t have to do with the sun? What about the moon? In all the universe man has only walked upon the earth and the moon. One fellow went there and stayed. Dr. Eugene Shoemaker didn’t make the cut for astronauts. After his death he was cremated and his ashes scattered over the moon by the Lunar Prospector spacecraft in 1999.
There are more astronomy fun facts about the moon. The suits worn by the moon walking astronauts weighed 180 pounds on Earth but only 30 pounds on the moon. I’d bet the astronauts thanked their lucky stars for that.
Astronomy fun facts aren’t limited to our close neighbors. The stars we see are a gateway to the past. It can take millions of years for light from some stars to reach us. Some stars we see may no longer even be there. There are over 1 x 10 ^22 stars in the universe. That’s a 1 followed by 22 zeros.
DIY Activities
Make a 3D Model of the Solar System for a School Project
Solar system is such a vast topic that children will benefit from seeing it in a miniature model form. You can also involve them in the project by asking them to stick some pieces or make something simple so that they are involved and interested in the whole process.
For plants, you can opt for Styrofoam balls and try to add the distinctive feature of each planet, else all the planets will look the same. For example, mark oceans on earth, add red spots to Jupiter, you can cut out some old CDs to create the ring of the Saturn. Pluto was demoted as a dwarf planet in 2006, but you can add it nevertheless as it marks the end of the known planets in the solar system. Ensure that sun is shown as the largest piece in the model.
You can ask your child to label the planets as per its features or ask them to identify the planets in the model. You can also explain the working of the solar system, rotation and revolution concept, how an eclipse is formed etc.
Space Ship Models and Mars Rover Paper Models
Much is known about exploration space vehicles launched by Nasa to study and learn more about the solar system and various planets. There are quite a few of them such as Galielo, Genesis, Cassini and the Lunar Prospector.
You can create these vehicles using colored paper. Choose a different color for different vehicles. Use scissors and glue to cut it into shapes and stick together the folded paper. Once the models are ready, you can write some interesting facts or information in the index card. To portray the solar system, you can paint the inside of a box, black and stick some small stars or paint them in the box and place these model vehicles in them too, to create a diorama.
Solar System Board Games
You can make fun games that will help your child to learn while having fun playing games. For instance, try making cards with pictures of various objects of the solar system and make a matching card of each object with written facts about these objects. Mix up the cards and lay them facing downwards and ask your child to match the objects with the right card of information.
Another interesting game could be space monopoly where you can replace properties with planets, asteroids etc. You can convert jail to moon space on the board, make your own space money etc. In other words, use your creativity to supplement space related stuff into the game to make it fun and easy to learn.
Fun Facts
Here are some fun facts for you and your child:
- Our solar system is composed of the sun and everything that revolves around it.
- Earth is the only planet that has liquid water on the surface.
- The solar system is full of cosmic dust, meteoroids, asteroids, and comets.
- It took NASA’s Voyager One 26 years to reach the edge of the solar system.
Wesco Spaceboy (Spaceship) Garbage Can
What if I told you that your garbage can didn’t have to look like a greasy stained can that just got shat on by a thousand dogs? What if I told that you your garbage can serve as a piece of decor for your home with a bit of design and functionality intertwined to make a fantastic addition to any kid friendly home that doesn’t mind the sparking of imaginations? Doesn’t sound so bad does it? The Wesco Spaceboy is a garbage can that looks just like a mini rocket ship, and is sure to give your home the futuristic, modern, minimalist, and child friendly allure you desire. Plus, you know… You can make rocket ship noises every time you place something in the garbage.
A perfect addition to any college apartment, child-friendly home, or someone who may be or aspiring to be a rocket scientist, the spaceship garbage can uses a large stainless steel flap that acts as a door for the garbage can, plus it keeps the odor from the smelly garbage inside from seeping out. The only downside might be is the size of the opening flap, which would not allow you to throw pizza boxes, or other larger items into it. Although the top of the rocket ship is removable so if you have the motivation after eating an entire pizza to yourself to remove the top of the garbage can, that is a viable option to get the pizza box inside the garbage.
The Wesco Spaceboy rocket ship garbage can is made from high-quality sheet steel, has a metal liner bucket that has a handle on it for easy removal, comes in a plethora of different brightly colored versions to choose from, has a capacity of 9.2 gallons, weighs 29.5 lbs, and measures 38.2 inches tall x 16.5 inches in diameter.
Check out the Wesco Spaceboy spaceship garbage can in action via the video below where the can is installed into the Kindness Offensive bus, which is a bus with a 50’s style diner inside, that drives around doing small and large-scale Random Acts of Kindness.
Useful Resources and Links
Imaginary Trip to Mars to Get Kids Interested in STEM
A STEM academy at Westminster have created an imaginary scenario where kids are preparing to take a trip to Mars (similar to the movie ‘The Martian’) where kids will get to explore the various technologies and applications that would be necessary to inhabit the red planet.
Led by Westminster scientists and professors, students will perform hands-on experiments during the day and look out at their hypothetical destination at night. The class will also give students an opportunity to learn in a college setting with advanced resources.
The four-day session will teach kids important concepts such as:
- How to analyze the microbiology of soil. Importance of microbes in vegetation and their pivotal role in the nitrogen cycle.
- Explore the mechanisms of photovoltaics in order to maximize energy production under testing conditions.
- How to create a solar cell.
At night, the kids will learn stargazing skills in the Planetarium Theater and Observatory. They will examine the motion of planets and stars, and the professors will offer a discourse on the challenges of surviving on Mars. In addition, they will investigate the thermodynamics and kinetics of heat flow associated with temperature regulation.
The class is aimed at students entering grades 9 and 10.
NASA Image and Video Library
NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) spends millions of dollars to create awareness about space and science in general. NASA is also committed to to advance STEM education around the world.
NASA’s ‘Image and Video’ library hosts its best high-res images, videos and audio files. The database is easily searchable and available to everyone (you will need an internet connection). Now you won’t have to browse through dozens of websites to find space photos that you can print or use as desktop or mobile wallpapers.
Time-Lapse Videos of Earth Viewed From Space
Checkout these spectacular Time-Lapse videos of earth captured from space. These were captured by astronauts, by NASA’s Space Center, or by the International space station (ISS) of NASA.
Most of the time-lapse videos show the view out the window: stars shining above Earth, night lights glowing below, the terrain over the various continents, the view during daytime as well as night.
Just sit back and enjoy the beauty of earth in these stunning videos.
Tour the International Space Station with Google Street View
Google Street View now lets you see outer space as well. As users, you can now see the inside of the space station.
“Looking at Earth from above made me think about my own world a little differently, and I hope that the ISS on Street View changes your view of the world too,”
The ISS is a large spacecraft and science lab that houses astronauts from around the world and acts as a base for space exploration, with possible future missions to the moon, Mars and asteroids.
Funtoyworld is a family-managed website with me (Ben), and my wife doing most of the work. We are proud parents of two wonderful kids and love reviewing toys. We have a firm but friendly “democratic parenting” style and offer several practical suggestions backed by extensive research. Our own experience with raising two children prompted us to share our knowledge. Read more.
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