ABSTRACT
Max’s parents knew that he was different from other boys his age. Whereas other sixth graders hurried home after school to be with friends, Max lingered to attend astronomy club meetings. At night, Max’s parents would often find him searching on the internet for increasingly sophisticated concepts. He could speak knowledgably and use phrases such as the ‘celestial sphere’ or the ‘Keppler effect’. Max loved astronomy, an interest that his parents could trace back to his sixth birthday, when they gave him a telescope. He had spent hours every night that year gazing into the lens that was focused on distant suns and planets. He had read everything about astronomy that he could get his hands on, and his parents had purchased a membership at a nearby planetarium. His greatest triumph to date was building a telescope from used parts he had ordered online. When his sixth grade science teacher announced that they would study astronomy, he rushed home to tell his parents. ‘We’re going to study astronomy for a whole semester in science class!’ he cried excitedly. ‘I can’t wait to get started!’
