This is part of my Fifteen Minute Focus series. Children explore magnets. In this post, I describe how we just play with and explore magnets. But, you could use magnets to teach the Scientific Method. Or, you could do a magnet craft – see extension below.

Objective: Children can demonstrate how magnets attract and repel.

Supplies:

Magnets, magnetic toys, items to test to see if they’re magnetic or not

Demo and Exploration

Show two bar magnets that are clearly marked with north and south poles. Show how if you put opposite ends next to each other, they attract – they pull together. If you put matching ends together, they repel, or push away. (You can also demo this with other magnets – it’s great if you have one that’s has a strong enough magnetic field that you don’t even have to touch them together… it can lift another magnet up in the air (levitate it) to pull them together.) This relates to Next Generation Science Standard 3-PS2.3) 

Give them magnets to play with and explore attract and repel. I like these Magnetic Match Rings. If you flip them one way, they stick together, if you flip one over, they repel – they’ll even float above each other on the peg. They’re plenty strong to have fun playing with, but not so strong you can pinch your fingers with them.

I also like magnetic marbles and wands.

You could put out two toy train cars that connect with magnets, and let them notice how if you turn a train car one way it connects, and if you turn it the other way, it repels. (They’ve likely already experienced this – this gives them the opportunity to connect this familiar experience to the new science learning.)

Song

From www.tooter4kids.com/Magnets/magnet_poems.htm. (To the tune of Did you ever see a Lassie? Have them lean side to side when singing “this way and that”)
Did you ever see a magnet, a magnet, a magnet?
Did you ever see a magnet pull this way and that?
Pull this way and that way, and this way and that way.
Did you ever see a magnet pull this way and that?

Experiment

Once they’ve explored attract and repel, it’s time to try out some “will a magnet stick to it” experiments. Do a demo testing about 6 items, where you hold one up – ask if it will stick or not (they vote with a thumbs up or thumbs down.)

After you’ve tested ~6 things, ask for their observations. What did it stick to? Metal? All metal? Would it stick to wood? plastic? Make some hypotheses together, then give them a pile of stuff to test during free play and continue to talk about their observations as they test everything.

Optional Extension – Craft

You could also make a project where you draw a picture on a paper plate, make a small drawing and put a paper clip or metal brad on it, then use a magnet wand below the plate to pull the object around…. examples of this include making a paper car to drive around a track or make paper ants to move around a plate of “food.” Or make a paper fish, put a magnet strip on it, set it on a piece of blue paper, then use a magnet underneath the paper to move it around.