Magnets
Background Information & Activities

© 1999-2010 BrainPOP. All rights reserved.

Experimenting with magnets is a fun way for children to explore the world around them while developing inquiry and critical-thinking skills. We recommend screening the Scientific Method movie, during which Annie and Moby follow the Scientific Method to conduct an experiment on magnets. Remind your children that magnets attract objects made with iron, and they have two poles, a north pole and a south pole. The opposite poles of magnets will attract each other, while the like poles will repel. We recommend using plenty of hands-on activities with magnets to help your children explore the properties of magnets and experiment with magnetic fields.

Magnets attract, or pull, objects made with iron. Invite your children to use magnets to attract different objects. Paper clips, scissors, screws, nuts, and bolts are just a few objects that are magnetic. A magnet will not attract paper, rubber, wood, or plastic. Some children believe that any kind of metal is magnetic. Remind them that aluminum cans are metal, but do not contain iron. Therefore they are not magnetic. Steel is a metal that is made with iron, so steel objects like tools and silverware are usually magnetic.

Your children should know that magnets have two poles, a north pole and a south pole. The pole is where the pull of the magnet is the strongest. Earth’s liquid iron core helps our planet act like a gigantic magnet. The area near Earth’s geographical North Pole and South Pole are where our planet’s pulling force is strongest. Help children realize that a compass needle is attracted to Earth’s North Pole.

Even though magnets can come in different shapes, strengths, and sizes, they all have a north and south pole. In fact, if you cut a magnet in half, you will still get two different poles. On a round magnet, one side is the north pole while the other side is the south pole. Remind your children that when opposite poles are next to each other, they will attract. When like poles are near each other, they will repel, or push away from each other. You may want to demonstrate this concept using two magnets, and let students experiment with different shaped magnets to discover the north and south poles.

Magnets can pull through gases, like air, but they can also pull through solids and liquids depending on the strength of the magnet. A magnetic field is the area around the magnet where it can attract or repel things. A magnet will affect a magnetic object only when it enters its magnetic field. This is why a small magnet on one side of the room will not attract things on another side. The strength of a magnet is stronger as you get closer to it, and likewise its strength is weaker as you are farther away. Have children experiment with different shapes, sizes, and strengths of magnets and explore their magnetic fields.

Encourage your children to think about how they use magnets and why they are useful. Provide many hands-on activities for your children to explore different sizes and strengths of magnets. Have them come up with questions about magnets and create their own experiments to find the answers to their questions and develop science inquiry skills.

Magnets Teacher Activities – Click Here!

Magnets Family Activities – Click Here!

Magnets Teacher Activities

© 1999-2010 BrainPOP. All rights reserved.

Gone Fishing

Have small groups tie a magnet on the end of a stick. Then have one group member fill a shallow bin or a shoebox with different objects from the classroom, such as pencils, erasers, paper clips, scissors, and small spiral notebooks. Have each member call out an item they think is magnetic and then fish for it to see if it sticks to the magnet. Students can write down the objects that stick and do not to the magnet in a chart. If an object has both magnetic and nonmagnetic parts, such as a pair of scissors with a plastic handle, have group members discuss the object. Which part is magnetic? Why? Students can then sort the items into magnetic and nonmagnetic items, and items that have both magnetic and nonmagnetic parts. Students can take turns filling the box with different items.

Make Your Own Compass

Give small groups a shallow bowl of water and a cork with a small paper clip stuck on one end. Explain that you can rub a magnet against an iron object to create a magnet that lasts for a few minutes. Have students magnetize the paper clip and place the cork in the bowl of water. What happens? Give each team a compass and see if they can make any conclusions about the relationship between their corks and the compass. If no groups come up with the answer, explain that the paper clip faces north and they have made their own compass! The paper clip is attracted to Earth’s North Pole. Have the students label their bowls with the cardinal directions on sticky notes. Then have group members give each other cardinal directions to follow. Students may wish to create “treasure maps” and have partners find the treasure by using their makeshift compass.

Magnet Test

Review the Scientific Method with the whole class. Then distribute magnets to small groups or partners. What happens if you put together two magnets? Do they become stronger together? Have students experiment with magnets, a variety of sizes of magnetic objects, and make observations about strengths of different combinations of magnets. Have them come up with their own experiment to answer the questions. Then have them share their experiments with the class.

Magnets Family Activities

© 1999-2010 BrainPOP. All rights reserved.

Magnet Scavenger Hunt

Give your child a small magnet and have him or her go on a scavenger hunt to find magnetic objects around the home. He or she can collect the items into a group, draw pictures of each object, or take a photo of them.

Magnets Everywhere

Have your child hunt for tools and objects that use magnets in them, such as screwdrivers and can openers. How do magnets help us everyday? How do we use them? Discuss the items with your child. Then have him or her come up with an invention that uses magnets. He or she can draw the invention and write a short description. If possible, make the invention together!