The 4th graders began their study of magnets by observing that opposite poles attract each other while similar poles repel.
They conducted experiments to determine what materials are attracted to a magnet, what materials magnetic force can travel through, and whether two magnets together have more force than a single magnet.
Guess what? Magnetic force can travel through an earlobe!
The girls played Magnetic Sailing games in which they flipped the polarity of magnets to move a magnetized "sailboat" across a pond.
They created their own original magnetic games...
which they shared with their classmates as they explained how to play them.
Their final project was to create a magnetically levitated train car from a styrofoam block. The magnets had to be carefully attached to the block so that the train car would balance and glide down the inclined track on a cushion of air. The girls tried adding extra magnets and/or adding more weight to see whether either would help the car travel farther. They kept careful records and shared their data with their classmates. Using the results from these experiments, the girls prepared their train cars for the final race. It was an exciting way to complete the unit!
