Astronomy Lab: High School

I did it! I just purchased our FIRST family telescope! I want to share with you:

1. Why an ASTRONOMY lab is big BANG for your home-education BUCK
2. How I SAVED MONEY buying a (rather expensive) telescope
3. The TELESCOPE we chose and why

My son is NOT one for dissections or getting his hands dirty. And he doesn’t really have interest in seeing firsthand what a frog heart looks like. Yet a college-ready high school experience involves: science LABS. So, how to get him a 1/2 credit lab this year… tailored specifically to fit HIS unique, handcrafted education? We decided to shoot for the moon!

TELESCOPE TIME!

1. Why an ASTRONOMY lab is big BANG for your home-education BUCK

COMPARED TO OTHERS LABS: Typical high school labs..biology, for instance… are NOT cheap. They involve dissection kits and fetal pigs and pickled worms and…smells. Not to mention we’d need a digital instructor to walk us through it, or a heavy textbook. All that investment–for one student–and then mostly: TRASH. The bio course we had our eye on was about $200 for the online instruction portion, $50 more for the book, and extra for the workbooks and lab supplies. I estimated about $350+ to go that route.

Now, I would consider that a worthy investment if my student were INTERESTED in participating…or even curious about the topic… but my son is: NOT.

Instead, I decided to invest in a tool that will be available for more than one student and open up avenues of family learning: a TELESCOPE.

2. How I SAVED MONEY buying an (expensive) beginner telescope:

CASH-BACK TRICKS. I *always* use Rakuten when shopping online. Through Rakuten, the manufacturer of our chosen scope (Orion) was offering 3% cashback. That equated to over $11. I will often piggyback the rebate by using our credit card, since we earn cashback through that as well. (We essentially use our credit card as a debit card–meaning we pay it in full monthly and never carry an ongoing balance. In this way our credit card PAYS US.)

Rakuten has really helped me stretch our family’s budget. Every earning period I get a check in the mail–free money! It’s free to join, and easy to use. They are currently offering a $30 cashback bonus for signing up. To get the details and see how it could help with your family budget, click here:

(Readers, the links above are personal affiliate links. It won’t cost you anything and helps keep the blog alive. It’s like leaving a tip without your wallet getting lighter. Thank you so much for your click support!)

LOOK FOR PACKAGE DEALS. When purchasing a first telescope, you may be so shocked by the sticker price (ME) that you assume what’s in the box will surely be enough for success. In many cases–it won’t be! Try to determine the essential accessories BEFORE you buy. For example, we learned we’d probably want a Barlow lens ($40) and Moon diffuser ($20). One of the package deals on Orion’s website offered our choice scope in a package set– giving us both of those items and a handful more for a $30 upgrade. This meant instead of spending $60 on two items down the road–I got them for $30 plus a few extra freebies. Know your scope, and aim for an all-inclusive package if you can!

SELL FOR SPACE. I am big about everything having a PLACE. So when bringing in a bulky telescope, I had to make space. I had to let go of things that we no longer used. I cleared our shelves of unused books and sold items on Ebay and Facebook Marketplace. It all adds up! My goal was to sell enough to cover the cost of our scope. Mission accomplished! Never underestimate the helpful boost you can get from selling things you no longer use! Is it easier to drop things at the donation bin? YES. But living on one income means I often make side money by rotating our STUFF. New in, old out. It’s one of my summer “jobs.” In the end, I came away with a brand new telescope…and even had $2 to spare! That’s an amazing feeling–and makes it much easier to fit a telescope into our cabinet and wallet.

3. The TELESCOPE we chose and why

Orion StarBlast 6 Astro Reflector Telescope (KIT) — $379.99

I have a lot of wonderful, nerdy friends. And: YOUTUBE. Between those resources, I was able to find the best scope for us. THE BEST SCOPE FOR YOU MAY BE DIFFERENT! We wanted something relatively light and portable. Something ready to use out of the box, that wouldn’t require a PhD to understand. We wanted to be able to see the details of the moon, with the ability to also find planets and brighter deep space objects. This telescope fit those needs, and came highly reviewed on almost every major website.

I will link you to some resources that really helped me along the way. By the way–none of my telescope links are affiliate links. I bought my scope with my own money and am not affiliated with any companies/influencers.

“Selecting a telescope” article by Home Science Tools

Thank you for reading! May your day be blessed.

COMING UP NEXT: what our high school ASTRONOMY LAB will include!

and ASTRONOMY 101 for all ages