The Discovery Channel Store Talking Telescope comes with a "Lab Assistant Guide" for parents and a series of laminated "Spark Cards" to introduce the telescope and related concepts. The Talking Telescope itself comes with twenty slides of real photographs from space.

Each slide has a simple code that the child inputs into the telescope to identify it. The child presses "facts" to hear short points of interest about the subject matter pictured on the slide or "quiz" to hear test questions on that subject. The questions are either true/false or multiple choice.

The Cat had a blast looking at the various pictures on their own, but was particularly enthralled to hear facts about each. Of course, his competitive nature meant he was eager for the quiz, even if he hadn't yet heard the facts yet!

Once the telescope is in a particular mode - "facts" or "quiz" - it remains that way until switched. This can possibly cause some confusion if the child switches the slide right after being quizzed about the previous slide; however, it is easy enough to simply switch back to "facts" mode with a new slide before attempting the "quiz."

Since each fact or quiz question involves turning a dial, the telescope is quite interactive. There is even a "focus" dial so that the slide is in sharp focus. The slides are stored in a drawer within the telescope, so hopefully the child will not lose any.

The Cat (age 6.5) was able to learn how to work the telescope without much prompting from me. He got the hang of it and was proud when he got quiz questions correct. When he got them wrong, he wished that the telescope would give him the right answer. Still, since the questions eventually repeat, he was given another shot (infinite times) to learn the correct answer, although he may not have recognized this!

Most of all, the Cat liked looking at the slides. Each time he found a particularly captivating one (every single one!) he would gasp and ask me to look at it too. He would then go into "fact" mode, followed by "quiz" mode before switching to the next slide. For awhile, he switched slides without doing the facts or quiz. He appreciated simply gazing into space.

The Discovery Channel Store Talking Telescope is simultaneously a sophisticated and an accessible toy. It promotes independence and interest in a vast body of knowledge, but the controls are simple enough that it can still be considered a "toy." The slides are gorgeous, and like any slides will smudge if not handled properly. However, these plastic ones can be wiped off, whereas those delicate glass ones for microscopes that the kids will encounter later in their science careers are not as forgiving. (Raise your hand if you've ruined a specimen before!) This telescope teaches responsibility in a much lower risk situation.

I spent hours in high school grinding a lens to put in a hypothetical telescope that never got made. I am glad that the Cat has a "toy" one that gives him a beautiful view of space along with matching information. The Discovery Channel Store Talking Telescope is definitely one of those fun toys that is educational, but is too fun to be considered as such by the child.