Exploring Solar Weather through Gamified Folklore and Science with Scratch

The sun is a powerful source of warmth and light, but it also has major impacts on space weather. Space weather ultimately gives the Earth its northern (and southern) lights (also known as Aurora). New Jersey could see the Northern Lights in the near future through the naked eye and even better using a camera. The opportunity to use current space weather patterns for learning is significant allowing teachers to incorporate the topic in the curriculum and discuss hos computer science can be used to predict future phenomena.. This work-in-progress paper discusses using gamification through Scratch programming as part of a lesson to learn about space weather and the Northern Lights history and the impact it has had on human activity.