Young astronomers

[Ger]

This morning my two boys climbed into my bed and my eight year old informed of that he could see the three stars of Orions belt.. when I came round i looked out the window and could not see them, after a minute I realised he was right.

Yesterday my six year old was overhead telling his class mates about how the earth and Moon are moving in relation to each other..

Seems I'm not the smartest man in the house 

Ger 

[tooth_dr]

That's a nice story Ger. My oldest wee girl is 4 (nursery school) and was in the library with mummy. There was a model of the solar system suspended from the ceiling. She proceeded to loudly tell her that Saturn was the ringed planet, and that the Jupiter has the Great Red Spot.  Kids are smart!

[Ger]

1 hour ago, tooth_dr said:

That's a nice story Ger. My oldest wee girl is 4 (nursery school) and was in the library with mummy. There was a model of the solar system suspended from the ceiling. She proceeded to loudly tell her that Saturn was the ringed planet, and that the Jupiter has the Great Red Spot.  Kids are smart!

We have books and posters in the house and I think it is a great way to encourage kids to learn, not just about astronomy at in general, it will help throw-in school 

[billyharris72]

Tell me about it. My mate (not an astronomer, which makes this even better) was round about a month ago with his son, who's about 5 now. He likes space and astronomy and was talking about the planets. But then...

1. He tells me that most of the matter in the Universe isn't visible, but "it's something to do with gravity"

2. Then he adds that maybe there's a mistake and there isn't this stuff at all, because maybe we've got gravity wrong.

I thought the first was mightily impressive, but a discussion about the merits of MOND with a 5 year old was a bit too much to take.

Billy.

[Ger]

1 hour ago, billyharris72 said:

Tell me about it. My mate (not an astronomer, which makes this even better) was round about a month ago with his son, who's about 5 now. He likes space and astronomy and was talking about the planets. But then...

1. He tells me that most of the matter in the Universe isn't visible, but "it's something to do with gravity"

2. Then he adds that maybe there's a mistake and there isn't this stuff at all, because maybe we've got gravity wrong.

I thought the first was mightily impressive, but a discussion about the merits of MOND with a 5 year old was a bit too much to take.

Billy.

That sounds like a five year old genius your friend has there Billy 

[ronin]

One of the biggest mistakes we make in astronomy with kids is assuming the just wouldn't understand.

The opposite is likey more correct the adults will not understand as they become fixed in their ways and can be unwilling to learn/accept what is the latest. Kids will simply absorb the information and are more likely to accept it, even if it is a bit weird. Occasionally the weirder the better.

[Ger]

2 hours ago, ronin said:

One of the biggest mistakes we make in astronomy with kids is assuming the just wouldn't understand.

The opposite is likey more correct the adults will not understand as they become fixed in their ways and can be unwilling to learn/accept what is the latest. Kids will simply absorb the information and are more likely to accept it, even if it is a bit weird. Occasionally the weirder the better.

Your right ronin, kids are like sponges they soak up information which is great. My boys want time at the telescope and binoculars which is enjoyable, all to be encouraged 

[JOC]

As a STEM Ambassador I say do all you can to encourage them as young as possible.  By the time they hit secondary school and start to pick options its too late, IMO, to get them interested in STEM subjects if they have picked the wrong subjects to support a later choice.  I surrounded the house with 'interesting stuff' when mine were very small we had various posters - nature, amphibians, periodic table with pictures and info, I had the 1 to 12 times multiplication tables printed out and on the cupboard doors in my kitchen as soon as they could toddle (they only came down about 6 months ago - my laminator had done sterling service on those), I sent them to sleep listening to nursery tales being read in French and German, when I was still PG I used to count out loud as we went up the stairs and baby could feel the movement then when they were in the cots in shopping trollies I used to do things like count the oranges into the bags in front of them.  We've still got periodic tables, solar system and organic chemistry up on the walls.  My own son at the age of not much more than 3 years stood and watched my kettle boil and informed me that was how steam engines worked!  Start them young and let them roll I say - it doesn't matter exactly what field of science you dip into - just get them interested enough to start asking questions.

[Ger]

1 hour ago, JOC said:

As a STEM Ambassador I say do all you can to encourage them as young as possible.  By the time they hit secondary school and start to pick options its too late, IMO, to get them interested in STEM subjects if they have picked the wrong subjects to support a later choice.  I surrounded the house with 'interesting stuff' when mine were very small we had various posters - nature, amphibians, periodic table with pictures and info, I had the 1 to 12 times multiplication tables printed out and on the cupboard doors in my kitchen as soon as they could toddle (they only came down about 6 months ago - my laminator had done sterling service on those), I sent them to sleep listening to nursery tales being read in French and German, when I was still PG I used to count out loud as we went up the stairs and baby could feel the movement then when they were in the cots in shopping trollies I used to do things like count the oranges into the bags in front of them.  We've still got periodic tables, solar system and organic chemistry up on the walls.  My own son at the age of not much more than 3 years stood and watched my kettle boil and informed me that was how steam engines worked!  Start them young and let them roll I say - it doesn't matter exactly what field of science you dip into - just get them interested enough to start asking questions.

I agree with you joc, also helps that my wife is German and speaks to them in that language, we do similar things as yourself and I hope there is an interest in science at a later stage for them 

[Dave In Vermont]

At my house at age 3, my first set of books rolled in the door: The Encyclopedia Britannica vol. 1 - 23 Aardvark to Zygote. My mother helped teach me how to read. I was forever pestering her for more information. The volume with the planets was the most 'dog-eared' by far. And the astronomy volume followed a close 2nd. place. I'd sit atop the refrigerator in the kitchen (I enjoyed cooking) and essential recite & compare the atmospheres of each planet and known Moons and distances and.....etc.

She then took me down to the town library, We had an excellent library as my hometown was in a sea of universities and colleges. And the science-section was my usual haunt. Geography became another favorite.

Kids are curious about most everything and anything. Natural sponges - give them a book and watch the osmosis! They leave us in the weeds, watching the Doppler-Shift off their heels...

Dave

 

[rockystar]

I found a little book that my 6-year old daughter had been doodling in - pictures and names of all the planets.

[Ger]

Continuing with the young astronomers theme, I set up the scope for my first real post summer session and brought the boys out.

We managed to pick up some nice stars like deneb, sadr, mizar and the feint grey smudge of m31 plus cor coralis.

Some nice targets to start with, but even though I have some good south facing skies which provides some lovely options I live near a person who has the habit of leaving the bathroom light on over night.. bloody annoying as it is the only real light pollution I have to worry about.