Title: Magnetic Movement
Age: 5-6 Year old
Subject Area: PreScience
Length of time for activity: 15-18 minutes
The goal of this activity is to give your child experience playing with a magnet. Magnets only attract items made of iron and steel. This provides an opportunity to talk about what things are made of.
Materials Needed:
- An assortment of magnets, either donut shaped, horseshoe or bar magnets
- Miscellaneous items around the house to experiment with
- Shoebox to store the items.
What to Do:
- Offer a magnet to your child to hold and explore.
- Have a small box of some chosen items that will cling and not cling to the magnet.
- Put those that attract on one side of the box and those that do not the other side.
- Talk about the ones that cling and what characteristics they have in common.
- Take a tour around the house and see what else attracts to a magnet. (Do not use a magnet anywhere around the computer).
Optional:
- Rub a needle the same direction on the magnet several times.
- Now try to pick up some pins in a pin box.
- How were you able to make a new magnet? Talk about what may have happened.
