The northern lights were a surprise addition for one 5th grade science class’s lesson plan

TOWN OF SALINA, N.Y. (WSYR-TV) — It’s a science teacher’s dream, the northern lights rolling right through their backyard.

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“Just walking out… the feeling was magical. It felt like with everything going on in the world, it felt like a magical experience that I am so blessed to have seen,” Debbie Jeneault, a fifth grade science teacher at Chestnut Elementary School in Liverpool, said.

Debbie has been teaching an entire science unit on navigating the night sky. Her students have used compasses and created sundials, but what was not on the original lesson plan was the northern lights dazzling the night sky the very same week.

“The students came in this morning with excitement, saying we saw the northern lights with my family! It was so wonderful and so it was just great to know that they’re having that passion and continued learning at home,” Jeneault said.

Jeneault is well aware that this awe-inspiring event could inspire some future scientists.

“Astronomers, astronauts, you never know,” she exclaimed. “Just inspiring them and getting them engaged with learning and doing it beyond the school day is something that makes my heart happy.”

It’s natural phenomena like the northern lights that bring people together and remind them to live in the moment.

“I just hope that people understand that beauty is all around us. We need to be more engaged in the world around us in looking and engaging the world around us and viewing it instead of being on our phones or pictures. Experiencing it personally and seeing it is something more magical than you can put words to,” said Jeneault .

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