Her brothers want to be garbage men
November 18, 2011 6:35 AM Subscribe
How do I teach astrophysics to an eight-year-old?
My not-quite-eight-year-old daughter just told me she wants to be an astrophysicist when she grows up. Whether it's just a passing fancy or not, I want to take the opportunity to get her excited about science.
What resources exist to help open the doors of physics, astronomy, or any related fields to both of us? Books, videos, activities, equipment, how-tos, anything is welcome.
My not-quite-eight-year-old daughter just told me she wants to be an astrophysicist when she grows up. Whether it's just a passing fancy or not, I want to take the opportunity to get her excited about science.
What resources exist to help open the doors of physics, astronomy, or any related fields to both of us? Books, videos, activities, equipment, how-tos, anything is welcome.
Have you tried helping her build a model rocket? It's something you both can do together and it can teach rudimentary elements of the disciplines you've mentioned.
posted by PsuDab93 at 6:43 AM on November 18, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by PsuDab93 at 6:43 AM on November 18, 2011 [1 favorite]
Aside from pop-sci stuff like Cosmos, there are two things she'll have to love to do to be a scientist: A) Math B) Experiments. Find experiments you can do with her, like Gallileo's experiments with gravity, or Foucalt's pendulum and so on. And get her math and logic puzzle books so she can start learning to think like a scientist.
posted by empath at 6:46 AM on November 18, 2011
posted by empath at 6:46 AM on November 18, 2011
Based on the location in your profile, if you're up for a day (night?) trip you could try the Yerkes Observatory on Lake Geneva. Looking over their website should give you some more ideas for activities you can do at home.
There is always the Adler Planetarium, which looks like it has a whole bunch of activities for younger kids -- One World, One Sky (featuring Big Bird), Planet Explorers, etc.
posted by Madamina at 7:10 AM on November 18, 2011
There is always the Adler Planetarium, which looks like it has a whole bunch of activities for younger kids -- One World, One Sky (featuring Big Bird), Planet Explorers, etc.
posted by Madamina at 7:10 AM on November 18, 2011
Green laser pointer to point out constellations. This blew my mind, I had no idea that this was possible until about a month ago.
posted by oceanjesse at 7:19 AM on November 18, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by oceanjesse at 7:19 AM on November 18, 2011 [1 favorite]
I watched Cosmos when I was 8 years old. That was also the year that my dad (not a scientist AT ALL) and I read parts of Black Holes and Time Warps (AWESOME) and learned about Schrodinger's cat.
CAVEAT: For at least 10 years after watching Cosmos - which I loved - I was terrified of nuclear war, because Sagan was pretty sure it was going to happen, and he says so a lot. If your kid watches Cosmos, try to put that part of the series in context to spare some nightmares.
Around that age, I also made a huge paper map of the constellations visible from where I lived. Almost 20 years later, I still remember them - it was a really fun project, and it made going to the planetarium in Boston at the Museum of Science even more exciting.
NASA has a surprising amount of kid-friendly material. Check it out here. They try pretty hard to get kids interested in space/astronomy/physics/engineering.
NASA's APOD (Astronomy Picture of the Day), while not geared towards children, is always interesting and could be a great jumping off point for discussions.
Have you tried model rocketry?
When I was around 11, I was still really in to astrophysics, so my parents got in touch with an AMAZING organization called The Learning Web, which only exists in my old town, but may have some kind of cousin in yours. The Learning Web found a guy in a real astrophysics department at the local university and somehow (this still amazes me) convinced him it would be a great idea to have an 11-year-old apprentice for 6 hours a week or so. I got to spend time in the lab doing real work (not complex work, but I sure didn't care), and he taught me all kinds of great stuff and let me be a part of the working environment. It was really cool at the time, but now I find it absolutely astonishing that such an arrangement was possible. That apprenticeship, and a later one I did at a particle accelerator, were some of the most valuable and meaningful experiences of my later childhood, because they took me seriously as a learner and as a capable person, even though I was young.
posted by Cygnet at 7:21 AM on November 18, 2011 [3 favorites]
CAVEAT: For at least 10 years after watching Cosmos - which I loved - I was terrified of nuclear war, because Sagan was pretty sure it was going to happen, and he says so a lot. If your kid watches Cosmos, try to put that part of the series in context to spare some nightmares.
Around that age, I also made a huge paper map of the constellations visible from where I lived. Almost 20 years later, I still remember them - it was a really fun project, and it made going to the planetarium in Boston at the Museum of Science even more exciting.
NASA has a surprising amount of kid-friendly material. Check it out here. They try pretty hard to get kids interested in space/astronomy/physics/engineering.
NASA's APOD (Astronomy Picture of the Day), while not geared towards children, is always interesting and could be a great jumping off point for discussions.
Have you tried model rocketry?
When I was around 11, I was still really in to astrophysics, so my parents got in touch with an AMAZING organization called The Learning Web, which only exists in my old town, but may have some kind of cousin in yours. The Learning Web found a guy in a real astrophysics department at the local university and somehow (this still amazes me) convinced him it would be a great idea to have an 11-year-old apprentice for 6 hours a week or so. I got to spend time in the lab doing real work (not complex work, but I sure didn't care), and he taught me all kinds of great stuff and let me be a part of the working environment. It was really cool at the time, but now I find it absolutely astonishing that such an arrangement was possible. That apprenticeship, and a later one I did at a particle accelerator, were some of the most valuable and meaningful experiences of my later childhood, because they took me seriously as a learner and as a capable person, even though I was young.
posted by Cygnet at 7:21 AM on November 18, 2011 [3 favorites]
If you have an iPhone or iPad, the Star Walk app is pretty awesome.
posted by rockindata at 7:31 AM on November 18, 2011 [2 favorites]
posted by rockindata at 7:31 AM on November 18, 2011 [2 favorites]
OH!
She can do actual astrophysics work, right now!
Zooniverse has a ton of online projects like Planet Hunters that will let her actually participate in real science from home. All she really needs is a sharp eye.
posted by empath at 7:33 AM on November 18, 2011 [6 favorites]
She can do actual astrophysics work, right now!
Zooniverse has a ton of online projects like Planet Hunters that will let her actually participate in real science from home. All she really needs is a sharp eye.
posted by empath at 7:33 AM on November 18, 2011 [6 favorites]
Chicago-area amateur astronomers are very active. A star party is a great way to get an introduction to observing. Astronomy amateurs are in general friendly, enthusiastic and extremely knowledgeable, and love talking to kids.
Chicago Astronomer star parties.
Illinios Sky Watch star parties.
Chicago Astronomical Society has observing events and lectures as well.
posted by BrashTech at 7:39 AM on November 18, 2011 [1 favorite]
Chicago Astronomer star parties.
Illinios Sky Watch star parties.
Chicago Astronomical Society has observing events and lectures as well.
posted by BrashTech at 7:39 AM on November 18, 2011 [1 favorite]
My 8-year-old is also interested in science and space, and we had a great time building and using a Galileoscope. We did this through the UW Madison's SpacePlace, but you could order one from the 'scope's site and build it at home. It's a decent little telescope -- we've been able to see the Galilean moons of Jupiter with it, no problem.
posted by Janta at 7:46 AM on November 18, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by Janta at 7:46 AM on November 18, 2011 [1 favorite]
I'm going to second Black Holes and Time Warps by Kip Thorne. It discusses really amazing ideas (time travel! wormholes!) in language a smart kid will understand and enjoy. I was given a copy when I was about 9 years old & obsessed with physics. It was my favorite of many popular physics books.
posted by steinwald at 8:25 AM on November 18, 2011
posted by steinwald at 8:25 AM on November 18, 2011
I too was once an 8 year old girl who wanted to be an astrophysicist...turns out it stuck & I am, in fact, now an astrophysicist. I was trying to think back on the things that helped me along the way. When I was a kid my family used to go to the Oregon Museum of Science & Industry and I remember those trips being awesome and educational. We also occasionally went to an observatory that would have star parties. I really clearly remember seeing Saturn for the first time and getting pretty blown away. I remember my dad giving me a textbook about astronomy at some point and I really liked that - lots of pictures of nebulae and galaxies.
I was 8 well before the internet existed though, and I have to say that if I could have been part of galaxy zoo (as empath mentioned above) or one of the other zoouniverse projects, that would have been amazing.
I recently got this book for my 11-yr old cousin who said she was interested in astronomy. I think I would have loved this when I was 8....I still love it now!
Maybe you could contact someone at the University of Chicago astronomy department and see if they wouldn't mind giving a budding astrophysicist a tour?
posted by kms at 10:31 AM on November 18, 2011 [4 favorites]
I was 8 well before the internet existed though, and I have to say that if I could have been part of galaxy zoo (as empath mentioned above) or one of the other zoouniverse projects, that would have been amazing.
I recently got this book for my 11-yr old cousin who said she was interested in astronomy. I think I would have loved this when I was 8....I still love it now!
Maybe you could contact someone at the University of Chicago astronomy department and see if they wouldn't mind giving a budding astrophysicist a tour?
posted by kms at 10:31 AM on November 18, 2011 [4 favorites]
Take her to a really dark site to see the Milky Way (easier in summer). Seeing the Milky Way from Peru when I was in college was a life-changing experience.
posted by lukemeister at 12:06 PM on November 18, 2011
posted by lukemeister at 12:06 PM on November 18, 2011
I was also an 8-year-old girl who wanted to be an astrophysicist. (I ended up becoming a historian.)
I really liked going to planetariums and observatories, as well as going places to see the stars with the naked eye. My dad also took a long-exposure shot of the stars with his old Nikon film camera where it turned out that you could actually see the colors, as well as their orbital patterns. I thought that was absolutely awesome.
Find the times when the International Space Station is going to be visible from your backyard.
And, yeah, find lots of math and science experiments for her to do, especially fun ones. Logic puzzle books, too. I grew up in Indianapolis, and the Children's Museum had "So you want to be a..." programs, where a bunch of kids would take a Saturday and go to some sort of a science-y job. I went to quite a few -- geologist, beekeeper, engineer, astronomer, physicist, probably more. You always ended up taking something cool home, and it definitely got me more interested in science in general.
posted by naturalog at 1:15 PM on November 18, 2011 [1 favorite]
I really liked going to planetariums and observatories, as well as going places to see the stars with the naked eye. My dad also took a long-exposure shot of the stars with his old Nikon film camera where it turned out that you could actually see the colors, as well as their orbital patterns. I thought that was absolutely awesome.
Find the times when the International Space Station is going to be visible from your backyard.
And, yeah, find lots of math and science experiments for her to do, especially fun ones. Logic puzzle books, too. I grew up in Indianapolis, and the Children's Museum had "So you want to be a..." programs, where a bunch of kids would take a Saturday and go to some sort of a science-y job. I went to quite a few -- geologist, beekeeper, engineer, astronomer, physicist, probably more. You always ended up taking something cool home, and it definitely got me more interested in science in general.
posted by naturalog at 1:15 PM on November 18, 2011 [1 favorite]
Seconding both the Adler Planetarium and the public events at Yerkes when they occur. There's a Yerkes star party this Saturday.
I've chatted with some of the people involved in the Adler "Astro-OverNight" events, and they sound fantastic. Looks like the next one is in February.
Though, I'd definitely let her guide you when it comes to activities. Astro can mean very different things to different kids (and, for that matter, to working scientists). Don't assume that looking at stars and sitting in planetarium shows are necessarily going to be the fun part. She may instead be keen on something else entirely. But, it's worth a try. And, the Adler has a pretty broad range of material to explore in addition to the usual looking-at-stars thing.
posted by eotvos at 3:43 PM on November 18, 2011
I've chatted with some of the people involved in the Adler "Astro-OverNight" events, and they sound fantastic. Looks like the next one is in February.
Though, I'd definitely let her guide you when it comes to activities. Astro can mean very different things to different kids (and, for that matter, to working scientists). Don't assume that looking at stars and sitting in planetarium shows are necessarily going to be the fun part. She may instead be keen on something else entirely. But, it's worth a try. And, the Adler has a pretty broad range of material to explore in addition to the usual looking-at-stars thing.
posted by eotvos at 3:43 PM on November 18, 2011
They do astrophysics research at Fermilab in Batavia, IL (cosmic rays, dark energy, dark matter, etc.) and they have K-12 programs in a variety of science topics. You might find a friendly astrophysicist who's willing to show your daughter around. (My husband works at Fermilab but is a technical writer, not a scientist.)
posted by Joleta at 9:37 PM on November 18, 2011
posted by Joleta at 9:37 PM on November 18, 2011
I read A Brief History of Time when I was seven, so don't underestimate what she can comprehend just because of her age or just because it's astrophysics. There are great versions with beautiful pictures now, too, so she can actually see some of the stuff. I just kept a dictionary nearby and spent as much time in it as the book itself (figuring out comets v meteors v meteorites v asteroids was something that I was glad to have the dictionary for).
I also recall my mom letting me check out like, twenty books from the library on all this at once. That is a great way to approach it too, I think. I also remember doing that with Greek and Roman mythology.
posted by Nattie at 7:21 AM on November 19, 2011
I also recall my mom letting me check out like, twenty books from the library on all this at once. That is a great way to approach it too, I think. I also remember doing that with Greek and Roman mythology.
posted by Nattie at 7:21 AM on November 19, 2011
Get her a pair of decent binoculars. She won't ever grow out of them and, as convenient as they are, she'll be able to do some serious backyard astronomy whenever she likes. Starting, she could do the binocular Messier Program.
posted by whatisish at 6:05 PM on August 22, 2012
posted by whatisish at 6:05 PM on August 22, 2012
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posted by griphus at 6:42 AM on November 18, 2011 [4 favorites]