Amateur Astronomy - Zooniverse

I'm a big advocate of getting kids involved in science at an early age and a great way to to that is through online research platforms setup specifically for amateur scientists.  In some fields of science, such as astronomy, it can be hard to get real world experience, but over the last couple of years there are several online platforms designed by professional astronomers that seek the help of amateur astronomers to analyze huge quantities of data.  One great example of this is Zooniverse.

Zooniverse

Zooniverse has several different astronomy research projects any amateur astronomy, with no initial experience, can become involved with.  These projects range from galaxy classification to planet hunting to solar storm watching and more!

Each possible project requires no prior astronomical experience.  Within the project page are tutorials and test examples to get you started.  I highly encourage all parents to point Zooniverse out to their kids, regardless of age.  Younger kids will need more assistance obviously, but you can still introduce them to the world of real astronomical research!