Making a Simple Compass

Compass: a tool used to show directions

Materials 

• needle
• magnet
• bowl
• tape
• small piece of cork  
• water 
• paper clip (optional) 

Directions

1. First you will need to turn the needle into a magnet. It is easy to do! Just stroke the needle approximately 50 times in the same direction with the magnet. (You can try to pick up a paper clip with the needle to check that it is now magnetized!)
2. Now you are ready to make the compass. Tape the magnetic needle to a piece of cork then float the needle in a bowl of water. It will now point to magnetic NORTH, just like a real compass! 

Creating an Electromagnet

An electromagnet is a magnet that can be turned on and off. It is made with current electricity.

Reminder: Adult supervision is needed for this activity as well as all activities on this website.

Materials needed

• safety glasses and safety gloves
• battery
• battery holder
• insulated wire (approx. 16 - 24 inches in length) with stripped ends or insulated wire with alligator clips
• large iron nail       

D cell battery electromagnet

Directions

1. Wind an insulated wire around a nail.
2. Connect both ends of the wire to the battery (one end on each terminal).
3. The nail becomes magnetic.
4. Predict the number of paper clips that the electromagnet can pick up.
5. Try to pick up paper clips with your new magnet. (The ends of the magnet are its strongest parts.)
6. Disconnect the wire from the battery when you are done. (It may get very HOT!)

Science, Social Studies, and English Language Arts

• As a follow-up students could research a famous scientist that studied and experimented with electricity and/or magnetism.
• They could also write an essay explaining how life would be different for us today without the discoveries and inventions of these scientists. (Michael Faraday, Thomas Edison, Alexander Graham Bell, etc.)

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Here is an electromagnet kit available from Amazon.

Magnetic Poles

The science concepts/standards for this lesson are:

• Magnets have 2 ends called poles (North {positive} and South {negative}).
• Opposite poles attract (pull closer) each other (N an S).
• Like poles repel (move away from) each other (N and N) (S and S).

Materials Needed 

• 2 magnets (per child or group)

Opposite Poles Attract

  

   

Like Poles Repel

1. Give the kids 2 magnets and time to "play", observe, and discover with the magnets.
2. Ask the children what they observed and discovered from "playing" with the magnets.
3. Have the children predict (or recall) what happens when 2 opposite poles are pushed together. Have the kids push 2 opposite poles together. Then have them try to pull the opposite poles apart. The magnetic forces between the magnets will be holding them together.
4. Have the children explain what happens when 2 opposite poles are pushed together
5. Have the kids predict (or recall) what happens when 2 identical poles are pushed together. Have the kids try to push 2 identical poles together. They will feel the magnetic forces pushing the magnets apart.
6. Have the children explain what happens when 2 identical poles are pushed together.  

 Attraction



Lots of Attraction



Opposite Poles Attract

Children can sketch and label pictures of this activity in their science notebooks showing the magnets attracting and repelling.  

These magnetic rings also demonstrate magnets attracting and repelling and are lots of fun for kids to explore!

Have fun learning about magnets!

How strong is your magnet?

In this activity, students can make a prediction of how many many paper clips their magnet can attract (hold or pick up). 
It can also be a contest to see who can attract the most paper clips with their magnet.

Materials Needed

magnets

paper clips

A variation is to explore different types and sizes of magnets to see which is the strongest.

Children can also explore with other objects such as washers, nuts, bolts, etc.

To tie in a math lesson, children can tally and graph their results.

Creating a Magnetic Caterpillar and Butterfly

Arts and Crafts, Science, Math, and Reading

Here's an Arts and Crafts Project from a November 2010 post on Animals. I'm repeating it because it uses a magnet.

Materials Needed:

• clothespin
• magnetic tape (cut to same length as clothespin)
• small cotton pom poms (green or other fun colors) (approx. 5)
• white glue
• googly eyes (2)
• scissors 

Directions:

1. Stick the magnetic tape to the bottom of the clothespin. 
2. Glue the pom poms to the top of the clothespin. 
3. Then glue the eyes to the front pom pom (the end of the clothespin that opens).

Eric Carle's book, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, is awesome to use for reading or science.

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Another simple Arts and Crafts Project that uses magnets are these wooden butterflies.

Materials Needed:

• wooden butterfly shape
• magnetic tape (cut to width of butterfly)
• glitter glue (or paint, crayons, or markers)

Directions:

1. Stick the magnetic tape to the bottom of the wooden butterfly shape.
2. Decorate the top of the butterfly with the glitter glue (or paint, crayons, or markers).
3. Let the glitter glue dry overnight. 

The glitter glue usually takes 24 hours to dry, but I think it's worth the wait because the finished projects always look amazing!  :)

This activity can also be used as a math lesson on symmetry.

Magnets and the Scientific Method Video and Experiment Form

Here's a great, free video from Brain Pop Jr. that answers the following questions about Magnets and the Scientific Method.

1. What kinds of metal objects do magnets attract?
2. What is the scientific method?
3. How do you do an experiment?
4. How can you record data?
5. How do you draw a conclusion?

Click here: Magnets and the Scientific Method Video 

You can visit Learning Workroom's website for a FREE Science Experiment Form Worksheet that you can download and print.

Click here: Science Experiment Form
Then go to: Free Worksheets 

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    to Learning Ideas - Grades K - 8

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