Using the Galileoscope to Teach Astronomy Review & Giveaway {closed}
I am thrilled to be providing this review and a tiny glimpse into how I am using the Galileoscope to teach Astronomy. My daughters are absolutely enamored with astronomy, and so they will be the best ones to give their feedback on this fun astronomy tool!
“The telescope works really well and makes stargazing so much more fun! The moon looks amazing through it.”– my daughter the little astronomer.
According to the website, the Galileoscope “was developed by leading astronomers, optical engineers, and science educators to showcase how early astronomers made their discoveries. Once assembled, the telescope will offer views of lunar craters and mountains, four moons circling Jupiter, the phases of Venus, Saturn’s rings, and countless stars invisible to the unaided eye.”
As a tool for your budding astronomers, I don’t think the Galileoscope can be topped. It gives a clear and perfect example of how Galileo’s refracting telescope and lens theory works. The images were clear and the telescope itself is sturdy. The lens allowed us to see the usual and expected astronomy visions of the moon’s surface and craters, Venus, and Mars. Some of the exciting and unexpected views we were able to see included Jupiter with some of its moons and the rings of Saturn! We did have to attach the Galileoscope to our tripod because it was not easy to focus on those images without that added stability. But it was easy to attach to my tripod, just as promised. The Galileoscope is light, and therefore it is very easy to transport and move for better night sky viewing. And my husband was happy because it was easy to assemble and no tools were required!
For some fun activities to teach how a telescope works, visit American Society for Engineering Education. It has lesson plans for Kindergarten through the 8th grade, including hands-on activities to demonstrate telescope concepts!
Another fun way to use this telescope is to study the night sky. We found Handbook of Nature Study, Home of the Outdoor Hour Challenge where Barb McCoy has created a free downloadable journal page for younger students to use to document their observations of the night sky. This would also be a perfect time to teach about the waxing and waning of the moon! Be sure to check out our Pinterest pin using Oreos to teach the phases of the moon! What a fun way to learn astronomy!
Finally, visit StarDate. It is the public education and outreach arm of the University of Texas McDonald Observatory. On the Lessons and Activity tab, you will find a free, downloadable teacher’s guide for astronomy with many more free activities for children in grades from kindergarten through high school!
Scientifics Direct, through their catalog and website, provides the most unique science related products. Be sure to check out their blog to keep up with fun and fascinating science related news. Also, don’t miss the Sky Talk column, written by James Mullaney, former assistant editor at Sky & Telescope magazine and author of eight books on stargazing!!
The value of this telescope is awesome! It is the perfect affordable telescope for your amateur astronomer!
For more details about the Galileoscope, just go to the website for a closer look.
Buy it:
You can purchase the Galileoscope from Edmund Scientifics for $59.95. Edmund is graciously offering HHM readers an exclusive gift of the Mag 5 Star Atlas just for ordering the Galileoscope. IMPORTANT NOTE: In order to receive this exclusive gift, you must put the Galileoscope AND the Mag 5 Star Atlas in your cart, and then enter the promotional code HHMSCC. Only one promotional code may be used with each order. Offer good through 11/9/2013. These promotions cannot be combined with any other offers.
Win it:
One lucky reader will receive one Galileoscope from Edmund Scientifics. Enter below.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Disclosure: One HHM team member received the Galileoscope kit to review in exchange for an honest review.
I forget the exact figure but I cant get my head around Pluto being around 3 billion miles away from earth! Still gutted it’s not still ‘a planet’ lol!
I like that Uranus rotates on its side.
love the planets and their beauty!!!
How God created them all so unique.
For some reason I like the fact that Venus us the hottest planet even though it isn’t closest to the sun.
That the earth was created with just the perfect amount of everything for us.
I love that God placed earth at exactly the right position in the solar system!
I think it is amazing how perfectly placed the earth is…not too far from the sun and not too close. Without the perfect positioning, life could not survive!
I love that you can start such a complex subject so early. I think my kids will really enjoy some of these early elementary projects. Thanks for all the great resources.
I love looking at how small Earth is in comparison to our solar system and then our galaxy. I also think that Saturn is so beautiful with its rings.
That the material in Saturn’s rings can be as tiny as a grain of sand or as big as a skyscraper.
You would only weigh about 1/6th of your current weight if you stood on the Moon. This makes me happy
Everything works together perfectly, it’s amazing and complex!
I love how small but peaceful I feel looking at the sky. My kids love looking for constellations and making up stories about them.
I love the stars! I loved learning as a kid what they’re made of and the constellations.
My 5 yr old son would tell you Uranus is his favorite planet, and that it has both rings and moons.
My son, (age 9) loves the fact that if he lived on Mars he could already drive a car since it takes almost two years for Mars to travel all the way around the sun. One year on Mars is 687 earth days. My son LOVES studying astronomy!! He says that he is going to be the first astronaut on Mars.
My girls would absolutely love this!! Would be a perfect addition to our homeschool:)
How the moon moves the tides, and that it takes the moon the same amount of time to rotate as it does to make one orbit around the earth, which is why we only see the one side of the moon at all times.
It’s so humbling to look at the night sky and see the harmony.
On a recent visit to a university planetarium the grad student leading our trip help me understand the “demotion” of Pluto. He said that he’s glad they removed a planet from the list of planets, rather than making us memorize the names of the dozens of other, bigger planet-like objects out there that have now been discovered in our solar system.
My son lives astronomy, and would love this!
I love that we’d be able to see the stars even closer and have more family time together.
It’s amazing how everything on Earth-from it’s distance from the sun, to the atmosphere, to the gravitational field- I could go on and on, has absolutely perfect conditions for humankind to exist. God is amazing!
The size of Betelgeuse compared to our sun and Earth.
That God created everything so perfectly that if it were to get slightly off, life couldn’t exist.
This looks awesome! My 5 year old would love it!
My 6 year old loves the idea of black holes, so we looked up all about them. I can’t remember all we learned, but they’re cool.
That God created everything perfectly. The way the planets rotate, their locations, and that Earth is exactly where it is and has exactly what we need to live. And how the sun rises and sets perfectly. God is so amazing.
I heard that Jupiter was just a ball of gas.
I love that all the plants have different paths on different planes.
My kids could look at the stars all night long!
The sun is just one of over one hundred billion stars in the Milky Way….that should keep my kids busy for awhile!
The effects of solar flares on earth including auroras I find very interesting!
I am amazed by the size of Jupiter, and all of its moons. Amazing when you really think about it!
I have always been amazed at the sizes of the different planets when compared to each other.
As a child I loved learning about Pluto…fact: it was a planet…fact now: it’s not a planet. We would love this for our homeschool family-thanks!
I think it’s amazing that there are over 100 billion galaxies in the universe!
The fact that life exists!
I love the varieties of moons around the planets.
I love seeing when my daughter learns something new including stars and things in the sky.
I like that people have used the stars are directional guides for years and years!
How stars form has always fascinated me. I love looking at them.
Around 80% of the stars we see have already died
I need all the help I can get when it comes to science. And this looks so neat!
Oops, forgot to say what my favorite astronomy fact is… well, I don’t have any because I know so little about astronomy, but husband says you can see the lunar landings areas with a good telescope… maybe even with this one? 🙂
I love to search for all the constellations. I love the rings around Saturn too.
I have always been fascinated at how many years ago people used the stars and constellations as “maps” to help them know which way to travel at night. I think of the wise men following a star to see Jesus and slaves on their way to freedom on the underground railroad using these natural lights as guides.
I think that it is amazing how God has ordered the universe where everything works together perfectly. Even to the point were we can count on the stars being certain places and we know that we can always find our way with them.