A new Sun-centered and science-focused coloring book produced by NASA in partnership with the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) is now available for people to learn while showing their artistic side.
The book, titled “Journey Through the Heliosphere: The Sun-Earth System in Color,” has twenty-eight, 11”x14” pages, and includes science facts and coloring pages for ten themes, including the Sun’s magnetic field, the solar wind, the aurora, eclipses, and how the Sun influences Earth. The book’s art and language is designed to engage with and educate students in grades 6-12 and adults. It includes a reference chart of solar terms in seven of Alaska’s many Indigenous languages and features a glossary of scientific terms relating to heliophysics on the last two pages.
Staff from NASA, Oregon State University, the UAF International Arctic Research Center, and the Geophysical Institute’s outreach and design teams collaborated to bring Journey Through the Heliosphere to life over the course of two years. Lynda McGilvary, who leads the Geophysical Institute’s education outreach team, praises this group effort. “It leveraged the strengths of each organization in a way that resulted in something that will support the goal of increasing America’s heliophysics literacy one coloring page at time,” she said. “I think it was a labor of love for us.”
NASA came up with the coloring book idea as part of its Heliophysics Education Activation Team, known as HEAT. HEAT members from NASA and UAF worked together to conceptualize the book and bring the space agency’s science expertise to learners at all levels of knowledge. The book aims to transform the complex system of heliophysics into something that everyone can see, touch and connect with by blending art, science, and cultural perspectives.
The coloring book also had input from 13 Alaska Native language speakers, who shared their cultural knowledge about the Sun. Links within the book connect to the Cultural Connections online pronunciation guide, so users can hear fluent speakers correctly speaking each of the translated words.
McGilvary hopes the coloring book will encourage classroom and community discussions about Alaska’s important linguistic diversity. “We hope that it will lead people to independently seek out and use other languages, especially the heritage languages of their friends and neighbors,” she said.
She also noted the decades-long relationship NASA has with UAF, which brings together cutting-edge science, deep expertise in the Sun–Earth system, and strong connections to Alaska communities. “This coloring book is a tangible reflection of that relationship and the fact that it extends beyond the amazing science that NASA and UAF conduct together,” she said. “It was such a privilege to work with NASA’s heliophysics experts on this publication, and I personally learned so much more about the Sun and our solar system in the process.”
Download the entire coloring book or individual sections of it:
NASA HEAT is part of the NASA Science Activation program, which connects learners of all ages with authentic NASA science content, experts, and experiences. Learn more about how Science Activation connects NASA science experts, real content, and experiences with community leaders to do science in ways that activate minds and promote deeper understanding of our world and beyond: https://science.nasa.gov/learn/about-science-activation/
