Best Telescopes for Kids, Our Top Five Stargazing Models Reviewed

When you’re a kid, and often as an adult, there’s little that’s more wondrous than the night sky. And you can work on that spark of awe and wonder and help them develop a real interest in stargazing and astronomy.

But as with any other hobby worth the time and effort, it pays to have the right equipment. And when it comes to telescopes for kids, that doesn’t necessarily mean it has to be the most powerful telescope out there, but rather it should focus (pun intended!) more on ease of use and value for money.

There are some great telescopes for kids out on the market at the moment, and the good news is that we’ve been going through them on your behalf, to see which ones are best for kids. After much deliberation, we came up with our top 5 picks, which we can’t wait to show you.

But we get that picking out a telescope for kids can be tricky, which is why we’ve also got a buying guide for you. This buying guide will walk you through everything that you might want to think about before you buy.

Then we’re going to top that off with another handy section where we answer some of your most frequently asked questions on the subject of buying telescopes for kids.

Just to give you a heads up, most telescopes aimed at kids are great for looking at constellations and the moon, but you can’t use them to examine far away planets.

So, without further ado, let’s show you some great telescopes!

Best Telescopes for Kids Buying Guide

As promised, here’s your buying guide! Let’s get down to it.

Why it’s worth buying a separate telescope for your child

If you’re a seasoned astronomer with a complex telescope, your child may not be ready to start at your level.

However, they may still like to follow in your footsteps, and moreover, they may like to feel trusted with their very own telescope.

Start them off in the right way, and they’ll soon become budding astronomers.

But if your child doesn’t take to astronomy as much as you do, you could always use their telescope as a portable telescope to take on holidays.

The trick to buying the best telescope for a kid

Match of Size and Complexity

Buying a telescope for a kid is quite different from buying a telescope for a seasoned adult stargazer.

The most important thing to ensure is that you match the size and complexity of the scope to the age and capability of the child. What would make a great telescope for an infant may not have the same appeal to a teenager and vice versa.

Kid’s Attention Span & Telescope’s Ease of Use

You also have to consider the attention span of the child, and whether or not they will have sufficient patience to set up the telescope themselves, or as quite frequently is the case, whether they’d appreciate some help with that side of things. 

They may find this part of the stargazing frustrating or boring, and maintaining their interest in the night sky is best done by appealing to their need for instant gratification.

Or if they are interested in setting up and aiming the telescope, it should still be as easy to install and as easy to use as possible.

We included many easy to set-up telescopes in our top 5 picks, these are our number 1 pick, the Qurious Space Kid's Explorer Telescope Gift Kit, and our number 5 pick, the Scientoy Telescope for Kids.

Cost and Durability

A child is also less likely to appreciate the cost of a telescope. And to that end, a telescope for kids should be durable, robust, and forgiving to less careful users.

If this is a concern for you, then we would recommend our number 1 pick, the Qurious Space Kid's Explorer Telescope Gift Kit, because it comes with a rugged protective carry case.

This is why we chose only the more affordable telescopes in our top 5 picks, and all of them are available for under $100 each. Though some are clearly more affordable than others. (We recommend that you check out the prices as you go along.)

Moreover, the amount of money you spend on the scope should reflect how much time and commitment the child is likely to give to their stargazing.

Some Other Things to Think About

Do you want the telescope to be accompanied by fun yet educational learning materials?

If this is important to you, then we HAVE to recommend our number 1 pick, the Qurious Space Kid's Explorer Telescope Gift Kit. 

This is because not only does the kid get a telescope and tripod, but there are all sorts of other things included to help with both their fun and their learning. 

This includes: a compass, a star and lunar chart, an engaging activity guide, and some glow in the dark stickers for their bedroom!

Magnification Power

Good magnification power comes from having a large aperture size on the telescope combined with a long focal length. But these are not the only deciding factors as to how close up you will be able to see with a telescope…

This is because telescopes, including most of those in our top 5 picks, come with additional eyepieces that work to magnify the image and increase the size of the image even further.

Where and how do you want to use the telescope?

Do you want a lightweight and portable telescope that you can take on camping trips? Or is it just for your kid to look at the sky from their bedroom at night? If this is the case, most of the telescopes in our top 5 picks will work for you.

Or do you want one with a large tripod that you can set up in your backyard? If this sounds more up your street, then we can recommend our number 2 pick, the Emarth Portable Refractor Telescope.

Do you want one with a finderscope?

If so, then we can recommend our number 1 pick, the Qurious Space Kid's Explorer Telescope Gift Kit, our number 2 pick, the Emarth Portable Refractor Telescope, and our number 4 pick, the SVBONY SV502 Telescope.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best telescope to buy for a child?

The fullest answer to this question is that it depends very much on the age of the child…

For a child aged from say 7 to 11, we would strongly recommend our number 1 pick, the Qurious Space Kid's Explorer Telescope Gift Kit, because it includes everything you’d want to nourish the child’s interest.

But for a younger child, aged from say 4 to 6, we would instead recommend our number 5 pick, the Scientoy Telescope for Kids.

What is a good telescope for a teenager?

We think that the best telescope for a teenager that’s out on the market at the moment is our number 2 pick, the Emarth Portable Refractor Telescope. It’s the most complex telescope and set-up in our top 5 picks, so should suit their level of capability.

And we’d like to think that your teenager can be trusted to properly look after a telescope of that price.

Which telescope is the best for beginners?

For any adult wanting to dive into the hobby of stargazing, we would recommend starting with our number 2 pick, the Emarth Portable Refractor Telescope. 

It may be good for older kids, but it also works well as an entry-level telescope for adults. Moreover, as telescopes for adults go, it’s certainly one of the more affordable ones.

What’s the best affordable telescope to buy?

All of the telescopes in our top 5 picks are quite affordable as far as telescopes go. Usually, powerful telescopes cost hundreds of dollars. But less powerful ones, such as those aimed at kids, are much more budget-friendly. 

If you’re happy with a less powerful telescope, and you’re buying as an adult beginner, then we would recommend our number 2 pick, the Emarth Portable Refractor Telescope. It’s the highest quality one in our selection.

What should I look for when buying a telescope?

When looking to buy a telescope, the main spec to look out for is magnification power.

Good magnification power comes from having a large aperture size on the telescope combined with a long focal length. But you should also consider the additional magnification power brought about by accompanying eyepieces.

You should also look into how easy the telescope is to maneuver once mounted onto the tripod. This makes it far easier to look at all the different parts of the night sky in one sitting.