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Discovery Box 12: Magnetism!

January 20, 2012 by Anna Ranson

It’s been a long time since we made a Discovery Box! For Christmas the girls received giant magnets in their stockings and it was time to get investigating and experimenting! I filled a metal tin with a range of metallic and non-metallic items, including nails, screws, hair clips, coins, keys and plastic money.

 C got stuck right in, marvelling at how the little objects immediately stuck to the bottom of the giant magnets. She spent a lot of time testing out which ones would stick and was perplexed by the fact that some wouldn’t. We talked about what materials they were made of and she soon picked up that only the metal items worked.

 I had some small, powerful craft magnets in the tin and they were fantastic and creating a dramatic result! She held them flat in the palm of her hand, lowered the giant magnet and watched them literally jump up to catch it! This was a real moment of “awe and wonder” (to quote an Early Years government target!) and was repeated many, many times.

 It was great fun to see how items would dangle off the bottom and soon she found that the smaller, lighter things could hold onto each other, sharing and transferring magnetism from the original source.

 This piece of metal picked up a magnetic force from the original magnet and was able to suspend all these items below it! There were a lot of “wows!” and “”oooos!”

 As she picked up the small nails they naturally formed a magnetic chain and this totally fascinated her.

 She experimented with adding more nails, one by one to the bottom of the chain to see if they would “stick”, which they did until they got too heavy! This process was repeated for a long time and with a huge amount of concentration, determination and satisfaction.

 “Wow Mummy, that magnet is Magic!”
Learning Links:
  • knowledge & understanding of the world (includes Science): investigate the world using a range of materials and techniques, ask questions such as who? where? why? when?, experiment with new concepts and seek to answer questions, learn new vocabulary related to science: force, magnet, magnetism
  • phse: sustain concentration on self-chosen tasks for extended periods of time

Like this post? You may like to see all our other Discovery Box ideas too! Click the image to see the full list of all the ones we have put together so far.

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Filed Under: Discovery Boxes, Knowledge and Understanding, Magnetism, Science

« It’s Playtime: Fun Literacy Play Ideas!
Doctor’s Surgery Dramatic Play »

Comments

  1. Susanna says

    January 20, 2012 at 5:20 pm

    Fantastic 🙂 Got to ask…what do you use to get the writing on your photos? I do not have any editing packages apart from the very basic one on my computer.

    • Anna @ The Imagination Tree says

      January 21, 2012 at 12:41 am

      It’s Picnik BUT they’ve just announced they will be closing the site down in April! Noooooooo!

  2. SarahElisabeth says

    January 20, 2012 at 5:40 pm

    Such fun-must do this. Reminded me of the story of the giant magnet in Benny the breakdown truck.

    • Anna @ The Imagination Tree says

      January 21, 2012 at 12:42 am

      Don’t know that one! Could do with some magnetism related stories!

  3. Kristin@Sense of Wonder says

    January 20, 2012 at 5:44 pm

    This is a great one! My kids love magnets. I’m always scared to let bug play with any thing too small and pointy though. He’s still in that “put everything in the mouth” phase. He might be in it for ever! We stick to metal lids and large washers.

    @Susanna picnik is a great sight for photo editing. You can do words, speech bubbles, stickers and most importantly, teeth whitening!

    • Anna @ The Imagination Tree says

      January 21, 2012 at 12:43 am

      Good idea about the large lids! C is old enough now to be sensible but I wouldn’t risk the tiny nails with Pop!

  4. Naomi @ Upcycled Creatively says

    January 20, 2012 at 5:52 pm

    Fabulous photographs! You have really captured the wonder and concentration. Looks like she had lots of fun 🙂

    • Anna @ The Imagination Tree says

      January 21, 2012 at 12:44 am

      Thanks! i’m so glad that i managed to catch some of it- she really was in awe by it!

  5. Tiffani Rose says

    January 20, 2012 at 6:14 pm

    What a great idea!! They were experimenting on Curious George today with magnets and now I see your post! You have inspired me 🙂

    Thank you!

    Tiffani

    • Anna @ The Imagination Tree says

      January 21, 2012 at 12:45 am

      Oooo yes we’ve seen that episode! (love Curious George!) Thanks!

  6. Charlotte: says

    January 20, 2012 at 6:44 pm

    Love this box! We have a toolkit with lots of screws, allen keys and other bits and bobs – I toally need to get some magnets to do some exploring!

    • Anna @ The Imagination Tree says

      January 21, 2012 at 12:46 am

      Yes you should- lots of fun! Magnets are harder to come by than I originally suspected!

  7. Sam says

    January 20, 2012 at 11:45 pm

    Well done! I love this idea! Your pictures are fantastic. Thanks for a great post and a wonderful idea : )

    • Anna @ The Imagination Tree says

      January 21, 2012 at 12:46 am

      Thanks Sam!

  8. Angelique Felix says

    January 21, 2012 at 12:06 am

    Love it Anna, what a lovely idea!
    Angelique

    • Anna @ The Imagination Tree says

      January 21, 2012 at 12:46 am

      Thank you Angelique 🙂

  9. Kristina says

    January 21, 2012 at 11:33 pm

    Ooo Anna, I want that big purple magnet just for me!! What a fun activity! Your daughter must’ve loved every minute!

    • Anna @ The Imagination Tree says

      January 21, 2012 at 11:54 pm

      haha I’m exactly the same!! I’m pretty sure MOST of the stuff I buy them is just because I want to play with it 🙂

  10. Vicky says

    January 22, 2012 at 5:00 pm

    That’s a great idea! She looks like she had lots of fun exploring with the magnets and various objects. I am stumbling this post. Visiting from The Play Academy. Vicky from Mess For Less

  11. maggy, red ted art says

    January 23, 2012 at 10:35 am

    Oooh a wonderfully fun discovery box! What a great idea. My two would be fascinated.. off to find a nice big magnet!

    Thank you for sharing on Kids Get Crafty!

    Maggy

  12. chimney pipe says

    February 21, 2012 at 6:25 am

    Great ideat! that is fantastic 🙂

  13. Anonymous says

    November 29, 2012 at 5:00 pm

    Hi,
    Great idea! Love this site.
    Can I ask where you got the big magnets?

    Thanks

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About The Imagination Tree Hello and welcome! I'm Anna, Mama of 4, early years teacher and play enthusiast from the UK! Click here to read more about me.

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