Use Space Science to Launch Your Child's Imagination

These websites, books, videos, and apps are great ways for kids to explore the cosmos.

By Liz Heinecke
Jun 09, 2017

Ages

5-13

Use Space Science to Launch Your Child's Imagination

Jun 09, 2017

Your  child’s imagination is as limitless as the universe is large. So how do we help them learn more about space without coming too far down to Earth? With books and digital media that are  tangible  gateways to the worlds and galaxies too far away to reach.

Here are a few ideas to help your kids blast off.

  1. One look at the incredible images coming in from NASA’s Juno probe will get kids of all ages hooked on NASA’s website. It makes it fun and easy to dig into everything from the International Space Station to their current missions and NASA TV. Your aspiring space-goer can even study up on real astronauts or learn how a collapsing star could give birth to a black hole.  
  2. If your young learner loves stories, let Ms. Frizzle take her on a guided tour of the universe with The Magic School Bus Blasts into Space by Joanna Cole. Or dive into Hedgie Blasts Off, where the wonderful author/illustrator Jan Brett encourages kids to reach for the sky.
  3. Your older reader will love George’s Secret Key to the Universe by physicist Stephen Hawking and his daughter Lucy, which “makes learning science feel like going to the movies.” And amazing true science narratives like Hidden Figures Young Reader's Edition go beyond space and science to teach your child about courage and perseverance.
  4. There are tons of great books out there for kids who love learning facts. Readers grades K-2 can learn more about the Earth’s own star in the book Sun, and National Geographic Kids First Big Book of Space illuminates everything from the Earth and the moon to space exploration. Books like Space! and DK Eyewitness Books: Planets contain multitudes of beautiful color photographs and illustrations to spark young imaginations.
  5. It’s fun to turn a couch into a spaceship for family movie night. Just sit back together and let yourself be transported through space and time by Neil deGrasse Tyson’s Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey and Carl Sagan’s original COSMOS series. For kids who can’t get enough space science, Discovery Channel’s How the Universe Works calls itself the “ultimate Cosmos operator’s manual.”?
  6. Space apps are another convenient way to explore the final frontier. StarMap is a point-and-learn app that guides your child through the night sky, while ISS Spotter lets him know when and where to catch a glimpse of the International Space Station passing overhead. 

There’s no shortage of great tools to help your child take virtual tours of our solar system, space, and far-away stars. So encourage your child to grab a book, open an app, or even take a seat on the couch for a closer look at our amazing universe. 

Featured Photo Credit: © SolStock /iStockphoto

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