Oil Pastel Northern Lights

Description:

For this we started with watching a video about the Aurora Borealis, or Northern Lights. After this we talked about the different techniques of using oil pastels. Some of them were blending with oil, finger blending, hard pressure blending, light pressure blending, and a few more. After this, we started on our 'northern lights' background and had free range to use whatever colors, techniques, and patterns. For mine I drew lines and finger blended so it blends together better. Next, we cut out our mountains and could design them however we wanted, I put snow on mine and made mine pointy mountains. After all of this, we glued our mountains on and were done.

Extension Activity:

For an extension, I would teach about the science behind the Aurora Borealis by creating a simple model to demonstrate how it works. I would begin with a brief lesson on Earth’s magnetic field and how solar wind interacts with it to create the Northern Lights. Then, students can create a hands-on magnetic field model using iron filings and magnets to visualize how charged particles move along magnetic field lines. I would pair this with a color experiment using clear cups, water, and food coloring to represent how solar particles create different light colors based on gases in Earth’s atmosphere. Students can compare this to the colors they used in their oil pastel artwork. Wrap up the lesson with a discussion about where and why auroras occur, and how they relate to Earth’s poles and the Sun’s activity. This activity reinforces science concepts through art integration and helps students understand real-world natural phenomena.