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If you want to give a child an educational toy and you want to encourage an interest in science, then a telescope is a decent choice. Obviously, telescopes come in many different strengths and sizes and for equally as many purposes.

Telescopes can get used for looking relatively short distances or for observing the stars. In fact, the term ‘children’s toy telescopes’ is a misnomer, because each single telescope is an aid to observation, whatever it is used for.

One of the most obvious uses for children’s toy telescopes is the observation of celestial bodies. Children like to observe the stars, other planets in our solar system and our moon and that interest can either be short-lived or it can lead to a life-long interest or even a career. This is the power of educational toys and this is the power that giving educational toys gives bearers of gifts.

Relatives have the power to empower a child by giving it an educational gift rather than a toy gun. A child’s personality will out, but if it has ‘blank spots’, it cannot invent them. Just think of how many boys follow in their father’s profession or how many girls do what their mothers did.

Educational toys like children’s toy telescopes can spur a child on into a realm of interest that even its parents do not know about. Most individuals have never looked at the Moon ‘close up’, that is through a telescope, leave alone looking at Saturn or Mars through a telescope. Empowering our children to do so is to widen their scope.

A telescope is a telescope is a telescope. There is no such item as children’s toy telescopes because all there are are powerful and less powerful telescopes and every telescope, no matter what its strength, affords better visual detail than the naked eye.

A telescope can be used for observing the stars, distant shipping or animals. Especially shy animals like deer or birds or dangerous animals like big cats or bears.

There are many places that you can go searching for children’s toy telescopes. Most small towns do not have stores specializing in telescopes, but you can often be a bargain telescope from a second-hand shop or a pawn shop, because the fact is that not every child will get fascinated by a telescope. Some, even many, perhaps, will be bored by a telescope within a few months.

This is to be expected. However, at least those kids had the opportunity and no-one can say that you did not encourage them. The fact that not each child is interested in children’s toy telescopes is not a good reason for not giving one.

The fact is that there are numerous sorts of educational toys ranging from Lego to Meccano to chemistry sets, but a telescope is up there with the best of them. If you give a gift of a telescope, you can at least know that you have done your part to encourage the child to seek more knowledge.

Owen Jones, the writer of this article, writes on a variety of topics, but is now involved with Silver Cross Dolls Prams. If you would like to know more, please go over to our website at Doll Prams.

Lego sets have come a long way since my brothers and I had Lego sets in the UK. Lego UK is an off-shoot of the original Danish firm known as Lego, however, Lego UK may just as well be considered a separate company in its own right. Nowadays Lego sets are a lot better only boxes of interlocking building blocks, Lego sets are themed now to make them more applicable to a child’s particular interests. Lego is seeing a renaissance.

The name ‘Lego’ is not a real word, not even in Danish. Rather it is an acronym of two Danish words “leg godt”, which mean “play well”. It is Lego Group’s name and part of the emblem of the Lego Group.

The Lego Group was the brain child of Ole Kirk Kristiansen in 1932 and the Lego firm has remained in the Kristiansen family’s hands until today. The current owner of the Lego Group is Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen, a grandchild of the company’s founder.

Lego’s mission statement is the same the whole Lego Group worldwide and that is to:

?Inspire and develop the builders of tomorrow?

Lego UK explains this by saying that their ultimate objective is ‘to inspire and develop children to think creatively, reason systematically and release their potential to shape their own future – experiencing the endless human possibility’.

The Lego Group now has over 130 subsidiaries and branches all over the world, one of which is Lego UK. From its unassuming beginnings in a small Danish carpentry workshop in Bilund, the Lego Group has evolved into the fifth largest toy manufacturer in the world, although it is still based in Bilund.

The basic building block of the Lego Group is the famous eight-stud Lego block, which has remained unchanged since 1958. In fact, it is unlikely to ever be modified since it has been calculated that there are over 900 million different ways of combining merely six of these blocks together.

More than 900 million different methods of mixing merely six Lego building blocks of one size and one colour! Think about the potential if you give a child a box of Lego building blocks of diverse sizes and colours.

Lego takes education very seriously and since the Seventies, the Lego Group has spread its product range to include younger and older individuals, The Duplo block is for pre-school children and are large enough for small hands to manipulate and too substantial to swallow.

For older children, teenagers and adults, there are electric motors that can be incorporated into models which can be controlled by computer. One well-known British TV presenter contacted Lego for help in constructing a house from Lego to live in.

In fact, this full-size, twenty foot tall, house was built by 1,000 volunteers using 3,300,000 bricks and everything is made from Lego building blocks. Yes, everything, including a flushing toilet, a sink with taps, the cat and the bread bin.

Owen Jones, the author of this article, writes on a variety of topics, but is now involved with Silver Cross Dolls Prams. If you want to know more, please go over to our web site at Doll Prams.