The Northern Lights: The Human Dimension

In this activity, students discuss prior knowledge about aurora, read essays about auroral activity and describe what they have read. They will learn about this phenomenon, how scientists have studied it in the past, and how older ideas have been replaced as knowledge expands. Educational levels: Middle school

Sunspot Activity and Ocean Temperature

In this activity students analyze and compare two graphs to determine if there is a correlation between solar activity and ocean temperature. They discover that by comparing the results from data that has been collected since the 1800's to the present, scientists have found a possible pattern. For example, there are many instances when the average ocean surface temperature and sunspot activity were at a high or low at about the same time. The source of the controversy is that there are also times in which a correlation is not seen in the data. Educational levels: High school, Middle school

Electricity and Magnetism

In this two-part activity, students learn about electromagnetism by constructing electromagnets and observing their behavior. They will discover that there is a close relationship between electricity and magnetism in that moving magnets can induce electric currents and that electric currents can cause magnetism. They also learn that electric current flowing in a wire creates a magnetic field around it. Educational levels: Middle school

The Northern Lights: Estimating Heights with a Clinometer

In this activity students apply direct measurement of angles and length to determine height. They will use the tangent ratio and a clinometer, an easy-to-make instrument that allows one to estimate the height of an object such as a building, tree, or flag pole by using the properties of a right triangle. This is one of a series of activities that will help students understand how the Northern Lights work, what causes them, and how to observe them. Educational levels: High school, Middle school

The Evolution of an Aurora

In this activity students use web-based data from the Image for Magnetopause-to-Auroral Global Exploration (IMAGE) satellite to study the evolution of an aurora and its changing shapes during the course of a magnetic storm. They will use an online archive of 5-minute satellite views and select several storms from the archive sorting out the images in time to look for a common pattern of changes in the shape of the oval. Students will discover that auroras do not change randomly in time, but follow a very specific pattern of changes during the course of a night's observation. Educational levels: High school

Solar Activity and Energy

By performing various activities to model the magnetic fields around the sun, students will gain an understanding of how the restructuring of these magnetic fields can cause a variety of seemingly unrelated shapes and phenomena. They will discover how changes in this magnetic field cause phenomena like coronal mass ejections, filaments, sunspots, and magnetic loops. Students will also examine images of coronal mass ejections and magnetic loops to determine their speeds. They will also gain an understanding of why the surface of the sun is so active and how magnetism on the sun causes gases to move. Educational levels: Intermediate elementary, Middle school, Primary elementary

Wandering Poles in the Last 2000 Years

In this activity students will plot the location of the north magnetic pole for the last 2000 years on a map and explore how it has changed location. They will discover that before igneous rocks cool and harden, the liquid magma is acted on by the magnetic field of Earth and that this causes some of the iron atoms in the rock to align with the magnetic field and "point" toward the North Geomagnetic Pole of Earth. Students also learn that when scientists analyzed rocks formed at different times in the past, they found that the magnetic pointers did not point to the same location on the Earth and that they interpreted this to mean that the position of the magnetic North Pole had moved over time. They will come to realize that the magnetic North Pole is still moving today and, using modern instruments, this movement can be measured from year to year. Educational levels: High school