We spent two weeks on magnets (March 25 & April Fools), as the kids had so much fun exploring its Power and Magic. Magnets and magnetic technology is utilized in so many things in our world – a refrigerator door, vacuum cleaner, compass, and so much more. Even our Earth is a giant magnet.
What is a magnet?
4,000 years ago in ancient Greece, as legend holds, a fellow by the name of Magnes noticed that a lodestone was attracted to the nails in the bottom of his shoe and the metal tip of his staff. Mangenite was in that stone. Mangenite is magnetic. That physical force of science is Cool.
Here the kids attempted to raise a paperclip on a string with a magnet as high as they could with out touching the paperclip with that magnet. To do this at home, just tape the end of the thread that is not tied to the paperclip on a table. Tricky but fruitful!
But how does it work? Let’s look at a magnetic field around a magnet.
A magnet has an energy field, like a forcefield around it. The forcefield starts on opposite sides of the magnet. We can’t see the field, but since small pieces of metal like iron and lead are affected by this field, if we drop them near a magnet, they will show us.
In this photo they laid little compasses down to show you how the force effects the magnets inside them. The magnet is tricking them because at such close range to the magnet, it becomes the stronger magnetic force than the magnetic field of earth.
What? You didn’t know? Earth is one Giant magnet. That is why a compass works. It is telling us where Earth’s 
North is.
Most objects are either Ferromagnetic or Diamagnetic.
When the atoms of Iron, cobalt, nickel, manganite or alloys containing these elements are like soldiers facing the same direction they are ferromagnetic. Substances whose atoms will not shift so intensely will be mildly repelled by magnets (at a rate of 2%) and are called Diamagnetic. People and frogs are diamagnetic – we repel against a magnetic field. In this video you will see a frog floating in the middle of a GIANT electro-magnet as all of its cells are in a state of repelling. (Not rappelling, that’s for when we go rock climbing!)
For more games or info on magnets go to Cool Magnet Man.
There are lots of great kits and game sets on the market to intrigue your children into the world of Science with magnets. Below is one called Magnetix. There are magnets on either side of the cylindrical pieces. The balls are iron. The building options are endless.
