Gift/toy recommendation for 9yo that likes astronomy

[WitMom]

I was thinking a star ceiling projector would be fun, but the ones I've found don't seem to get great reviews. Any other ideas? Or can any recs for a good star projector?

[hellokitty]

How about a membership to a science or natural history museum that has a planetarium?

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[lizzywednesday]

How about a membership to a science or natural history museum that has a planetarium?
...

:yeahthat:

There are also great astronomy books out there - I got my niece a copy of A Child's Guide to the Night Sky when she was younger & asked for a telescope. It's this: http://www.amazon.com/Childs-Introduction-Night-Sky-Constellations--/dp/157912366X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1384889576&sr=8-1&keywords=child%27s+guide+to+the+night+sky

The reason I picked it was because it also tells the myths behind some of our favorite astronomical features.

[WitMom]

Normally I would be all over the membership thing, but this is for DD1 and I'm trying to find something "just for her" that DD2 won't be interested in/try to stake a claim on. If I go the membership route, it would end up being for the whole family and DD2 would benefit too. (Not that I'm trying to deprive DD2 of anything....DD1 just needs stuff that is exclusively her own IYKWIM.)

[hellokitty]

If you want an actual physical gift, I agree with the pp above regarding telescopes and books. However, I also wanted to mention that there are also a lot of astronomy groups that meet up, usually associated with local nature centers. You should find out when they meet and take your dd there, it sounds like they would enjoy it. I know that the ones in our area welcome beginners and children. I haven't had a chance to take my boys yet, but will probably bring them some time within the next yr and since we live in a pretty rural area, we don't have as much light pollution compared to more urban regions, which will be nice.