Aurora Art | Museum | Museum of the North

Explore how charged particles create the colors of the aurora. Make your own northern lights artwork!
A colorful aurora reflected into water with trees silhouetted in the foreground.
David Cartier

Aurora Chalk Art - Activity PDF
Discover the different colors of the aurora and what causes them, then create your own artwork inspired by the northern lights!

Diagramming the Northern Lights - PDF Elementary - PDF Middle School
Discover how solar wind, the atmosphere, and Earth's magnetic field are the perfect recipe to create the phenomena of northern lights. Watch a 25-minute video Kiuguyat: The Northern Lights that combines cultural and scientific information about the aurora. Print or view this poster as a visual aid.

Colors of the Aurora - Elementary Reading - Middle School Reading
Explore videos & activities about aurora ovals and glowing gases to learn why the aurora appears as different colors.

Aurora Bracelet - PDF activity
Discover how gases in the atmosphere cause the different colors of the northern lights, and make a colorful bracelet to remind you of the aurora colors.

Several lessons are from the Cultural Connections kits, which can be checked out from the museum here.

Waves of green aurora light reflected on water. Purple and green aurora rights in the sky, with tree silhouettes below.
Left: Hugo L'Achr. Right: Sebastian Saarloos

This project was funded under NASA cooperative agreement NNX16AL65A. 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.

All photos from NASA unless otherwise credited.