Just manually sweeping over the sky randomly won't probably give you much. If you want to get a telescope get something that has computer-controlled tripod so you can just select a target and it focuses on it automatically. I started with programming with qbasic at around 13 or so and didn't really have anyone to teach me but since then to today it has been my main hobby and it has given me an awesome job Give them PyGame and show how they can make a "world" that follows the rules they make and they might like it. From the age of 10-ish introducing them to programming might not be all that bad idea either. There are awesome Legos for pretty much all ages from 3 months to infinity, though I'm not sure if you can get them in US. This is mainly for thinking out loud for me but I know most of you are quite keen on the sciences and have some really terrific experiences to share. With the 'scopes I am thinking that models that support cameras would be great so when they cannot sketch items at the moment they can take pictures and do it later-or make scrap books, post them on the family blog, send them to friends, etc. a solid $300 microscope can be split across all 4). Also, part of the cost on some of these things can bee seen as multi-child investments (e.g. I am not looking to do any of this stuff "right now" but with 4 children and homeschooling I am looking ahead to how I can get them in the right direction in science and make it fun. I think my kids are still a little young to really appreciate and use this-and I am not too skilled-but I would like to encourage them in this area. I have been tempted to get one of those "push button" newer models. I am a newb on these but the kids love watching the Universe series and other space shows with me. I had one as a child but I was never very good with it (the skies are not too great in Seattle). This may be overkill now but in a couple years this sounds like a good investment so they can start studying "micro bugs" for fun. I really enjoyed biology in college and I am hoping to engage them with microscopic projects. The kids enjoy the digital microscope but it is difficult to use. Snap Circuits has an RC kit and there are build your own basic models that may be just right to jump them into to tearing these apart on their own. We have some RC cars (Losi Mini-Ts) but I got them 2 years ago and they were a little over their head. I have seen some books that are aimed at helping children build various models. He enjoys fiddling with code-like programs (he really liked Kodu a lot), enjoys Legos and RC. In 15 months our 7 year old will be 9 and I think he will be quite ready of Lego Mindstorms. I am contemplating what to do next with them. They don't even consider it a part of their homeschool curriculum (probably because dad does all these things with them and doesn't mention the words school). My sons consider it their favorite thing to do-my oldest says he loves science. My parents recently got them a 150x digital microscope and they really like it. So much so I picked up the SC-750 model and plan to use it with them daily during my recovery from surgery. I recently picked up a Snap Circuits and they LOVE it. We have a couple experiment books and a couple handfuls of DK books that we enjoy. Do others have ideas and suggestions for hobbies, toys, adventures, etc that are fun and educational? Especially in regards to science? Things that worked well for you as a child or for your own children?
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