Astronomy is often one of those subjects that can hold the fascination of young and old alike without them having to learn a great deal about the science or the theory behind it. I feel that it is quite important that observation should play a large part in any astronomy work in scouting, to maintain that feeling of doing something and to maintain the wonder of the subject when experienced first hand.

Too often I find myself ignoring this aspect (being involved with the mathematics and physics of all things astronomy related) and this means that younger children very quickly get bored.

The whole package is seamlessly presented with a very polished (natural and unobtrusive too) interface. The atmospheric background music, speech and sounds are well presented and clear and most certainly add to the overall experience. Patrick begins the whole expierence by clearly explaining how to navigate the sections, but even if you get stuck he is normally available at a click to guide you through. His explanations and narrations are clear and full of life. On my computer (P233, 64 MB RAM, 20x CDROM) it runs like a dream with no problems whatsoever. Any of the movies can be played full screen at a click (although naturally due to space limitations they will not be any clearer. However they do their job very effectively as it is).

For anyone, of any age, with any level of interest in astronomy, this is a must. I am still sitting here as I type this watching (almost literally) hours of movies and information and enjoying every second of it. If you order a back issue of PC FORMAT, then for just £5 I can only sum up by saying GET THIS!

a) Dead Boring (#50. Shine a light on a bicycle reflector. The Moon reflects light from.... Dead interesting!)
b) Pretty Pointless (#96. Eat a spoonful of cereal. If you were in space you would receive a face full of food because.... For me this is not an experiment!).

Don't get me wrong though. Aimed at the 8-12 age range the book illustrates a wide variety of astronomy topics and does introduce and explain many aspects of astronomy, sometimes explaining concepts with clarity. It's just that I feel that a 8-10 year old may find some of the experiments tedious or 'easy' and others above their 'level'. Personally I think that this book may do better alongside a set of 'lessons' on astronomy, rather than a stand alone set of experiments for cubs. However when all is said and done there are plenty of experiments in here that you can try, and I would recommend the book for anyone looking for ideas for that astronomy badge.

A strange one this. A zoomer is basically an origami masterpiece from card. As you fold the zoomer in different directions new facts and information 'pops up'. As a novelty it may hold the interest of children for a short period of time allowing some of the information to sink in. Written to the level of younger children (8-10) it contains information and 'number facts' on the sun and planets without going into tremendous detail. I can see this used as a useful source for simple information when they come to section 4 of the astronomers badge.For £1.99 it may be a worthy addition to your 'astronomy box'.