Art Lesson Plan: Neon Northern Lights

Have you noticed all the photos of the Northern Lights popping up lately? They’ve been showing up more often and farther south than usual, thanks to increased solar activity. The Northern Lights, or aurora borealis, happen when charged particles from the sun hit gases in Earth’s atmosphere, lighting up the night sky with waves of color. With this fun art lesson, your students will use Crayola® Neon Crayons, permanent markers, and Premier Tempera paint on Crayola Construction Paper to mimic the glow and movement of the real thing.

Neon Northern Lights Lesson Objectives

• Explain how art can help us better understand the world around us.
• Read and discuss the Finnish folk story of the Northern Lights and the Firefox, and use this story as inspiration when creating unique mixed-media artwork.
• Use Crayola Neon Crayons to create the phenomenon of the Northern Lights.
• Use permanent markers and white Crayola Premier Tempera to add details including foliage, land features, stars, or even a firefox.

Cross-Curricular Ideas

• Tie this activity into an ELA lesson by having students write a short descriptive paragraph or poem to accompany their artwork, focusing on sensory details and vivid imagery.
• Connect this activity to a science lesson by having students illustrate and label the layers of the atmosphere or the magnetic field to explain what causes the Northern Lights.
• Make this a geography activity by asking students to create a map showing where the Northern Lights can be seen, including labeled countries and cities within the auroral zone.
• Partner this activity with a history lesson by having students research and depict Indigenous legends or cultural stories related to the aurora borealis.

Share your students’ art!