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JasperDyne t1_jdk5efk wrote

Here’s a list of Boston Area Amateur Astronomy Clubs.

Clubs often have public viewing parties where members set up their gear for anyone to look through. Lots of knowledgeable folks who love to share their love of the night sky with kids and families. If your kids start to get serious about Astronomy, these clubs can be a valuable resource for buying the appropriate and affordable gear for the hobby. There’s lots of junk out there that will not only drain your wallet, but kill your kids’ enthusiasm.

Now is a good time to look up—especially at twilight and just after dark, where you can see multiple planets like Venus, Mars & Jupiter in the same part of the sky along with a pretty crescent Moon.

BTW, a nice pair of binoculars are also great for looking at the night sky, and are very portable and affordable.

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Mumbles76 OP t1_jdke8nl wrote

How are these events for young kids that are impatient? Is it mostly geared to legit stargazers or are there usually kids running around etc?

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JasperDyne t1_jdkl8uj wrote

The ones I’ve attended have been pretty casual. If it’s a fairly decent-sized club with lots of members with their respective scopes set up, it should be pretty easy to accomodate kids with short attention spans. Of course all clubs are different, so your actual mileage may vary.

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Drix22 t1_jdmky3l wrote

Atmob member: We're kid friendly, but the scopes are owned by volunteers who do assess a kid's age and ability to follow directions when looking through the scope sometimes worth thousands of dollars. Every kid is different and it's a tough one to feel out, but I've literally seen someone try to swing on a telescope like it was a monkey bar and that's going to be a hard pass.

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