Educators

Cultural Connections

Are you in the Fairbanks region? Check out a learning kit full of activities about the northern lights and Iñupiaq cultural lessons!

Green northern lights, with the words "Kiuguyat/Kuigiyaq: The Northern Lights".


Listen to stories from elders, watch a traditional dance, and hear songs about the northern lights to engage with the oral tradition of passing on knowledge. Learn Iñupiaq words for science vocabulary! 

Kits for two different age groups:
4th-5th grades
6th-8th grades

The Cultural Connections website links to a 25-minute video called Kiuguyat: The Northern Lights that combines traditional Inupiaq knowledge with modern science. The website also features:

  • Iñupiaq vocabulary pronunciation and interviews with elders from across the North Slope & Northern Seward Peninsula.
  • Short video lessons with graphic depictions of the phenomena that create the northern lights.
  • An interactive component at the end of each video lesson.
  • Teacher & student manuals for both kits.

All of the website material is also included on an USB drive in the kit.

 

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.