Magnets to Go

This interactive program focuses on the science behind magnetic properties and electromagnetism. Students will experiment to discover magnetic and non-magnetic metals. They will explore magnetic properties such as north and south poles, magnetic fields, attracting and repelling forces, and discover how electromagnets and generators work.

Contact Information

For more information about this program, contact:

Menzel Smith-Jones
Brookhaven National Laboratory
Bldg.400C – P.O. Box 5000
Upton, NY 11973-5000
631-344-4495 (phone)
631-344-7098 (fax)
slc@bnl.gov

This interactive program focuses on the science behind magnetic properties and electromagnetism. Students will experiment to discover magnetic and non-magnetic metals. They will explore magnetic properties such as north and south poles, magnetic fields, attracting and repelling forces, and discover how electromagnets and generators work.

Audience for This Program

Grades 4th, 5th, and 6th

Program Benefits

Vocabulary

magnetic, non-magnetic, repel, attract, magnetic field, electromagnet, domain, atom, hypothesis, generator, alloy

Lesson Objectives

1) Discover that some metals are magnetic while some are not. Some of the magnetic metals are natural while some are manufactured.

2) Magnets have a north and a south pole; like poles repel, opposite poles attract. All magnets have a magnetic field.

3) Discover magnets form when particles called domains orient in the same direction.

4) Demonstrate an understanding of electromagnets and generators.