Review: Galileo Telescope Kit for $25

Posted by E. Gazelle on March 11, 2009

Ready-Made DIY Galileo Telescopes for Children

- Ideal Learning Tool for Kids, Young Children and Students

Great Teaching Aid

Teachers, educators and parents who are looking for an incredibly cheap astronomy teaching aid for very young children or students, the Galileo Telescope, or Galileo-scope, which we are reviewing here, offers a complete kit for constructing a 20-power refracting telescope.

It is a light-weight, easy-to-assemble, low-cost refractor telescope kit designed and developed by Stargazer Scientific specifically for young children. The 20 times visual power is adequate in giving the children an idea of what Galileo saw through his telescope.  It serves as an ideal DIY starter telescope kit for children, introducing them to the basic components of a refractor telescope and how it works.

Main Features of the Galileo-scope

The Galileo-scope has a focal length of 460mm, a 44mm diameter plano-convex objective lens and a 20mm diameter plano-concave eyepiece. The lenses are made of medium quality glass which gives better quality images than the plastic varieties.  The completed scope is not too large or bulky for children to handle as it is only about a foot long.

With adult guidance and supervision, it can be easily assembled in 15 minutes. No further cutting is necessary as the two telescoping cardboard tubes are pre-cut and no messy gluing is needed.  The external surface of the telescopic tube is intentionally left plain for children to create their own personalized designs.

A point to note is that the manufacturer has added some modern features to the Galileo-scope:  the finderscope and the tripod nut attachment.

With this self-assembled telescope, the kids can rediscover some of the objects Galileo saw 400 years ago such as the lunar features and the millions of twinkling stars that form the Milky Way.  It is a great tool for exposing very young children to the beauty of the Universe.

The Galilean telescope can be used for both terrestrial and celestial purposes since the images seen through the eyepiece are erect, i.e. the right way up and not inverted.  For more stable viewing, you may attach the telescope to any camera tripod.

I assembled a test kit made available to me by the manufacturer in less than 10 minutes.  Personally, I feel the Galileo-scope, with its limited field of view, is suited to viewing features on the moon, which I did.  During the recent last quarter of the moon, I saw craters and mountains near the terminator using the scope.  During today’s full moon, I can see the marias and the Copernicus crater with its very prominent radiating rays.  I had to lean against the wall for stability though.

For class projects, it is advisable for the teacher to explain all the parts of the kit before hand.  This may then be followed by a demonstration on how to assemble a Galileo-scope.

The Galileo-scope kit is sold for US$25/= excluding shipping. Full directions for assembly is enclosed in the kit. For that price, the scope is ideal as a learning tool and adequate as an introduction to astronomy telescopes for young children and students.

For enquiries, you may contact STARGAZER SCIENTIFIC at +603-8996 3378 or email them at info@stargazer.com.my.   Since they are the manufacturer and supplies mainly in bulk, the minimum order is 20 sets per order.

Remember to quote Coupon Number: TP-9956 to claim your special discount of 10% (excluding shipping). Exclusive offer for visitors of this website and valid for a limited time only.