Hands-On Aurora Activities


Explore the aurora with these hands-on activities!


Green aurora lights over a hill.ÃÛÌÒÓ°Ïñ Photo by Todd Paris, 2015.

The northern lights are awe-inspiring! Aurora explorations can be a stepping stone for curiosity and student excitement about heliophysics: the study of the Sun/Earth system and the effects of the Sun on the Earth.


 

Activities

Note:  PDFs meet accessibility standards. If you encounter any issues, please contact us at ua-museumlearn@alaska.edu.

  • Make a colorful bracelet to remind you of the aurora colors.
  • Create your own artwork inspired by the northern lights.
  • Aurora Ingredients: Discover how solar energy, Earth’s magnetic field, and the atmosphere interact to create the aurora with a kinesthetic activity.
  • Aurora Ovals  (Courtesy of Cultural Connections):  Discover why the aurora is most visible near the North and South Poles.
  • Aurora Storytelling (Courtesy of Cultural Connections): Listen and watch elders tell stories about the northern lights. Videos are available at the .
  • (Courtesy of Science Friday): Examine aurora, energy levels, and wave activity to create a model that explains why there are different types of aurora. For grades 9-12.

Child's hand holding a piece of green chalk and coloring a picture of the aurora.

Aurora Chalk Art activity. UAMN photo by Kristin Donaldson.

 

Return to Aurora homepage.
 

NASA logo with the word "partner" underneath.

 

This project was funded under NASA cooperative agreement NNX16AL65A and cooperative agreement number NNH15ZDA004C. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and  do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.