In this activity children are asked if they can duplicate a magic trick using magnets.
Description
Everyone's jealous of wizards like Harry Potter. The Muggle Times newspaper prints a story suggesting that some wizards' tricks are not magic at all, but rely on hidden magnets. Children are asked if they can duplicate a magic trick using magnets. There is then a literacy activity to investigate whether it's possible to play the broomstick riding game Quidditch with the force of magnets.
Learning Objective:
- To make and test predictions about whether materials are magnetic or not
- To make careful observations
- To use results to draw conclusions, indicating whether they were right in their prediction about which materials were magnetic
Children will learn:
- To classify a range of materials, including metals e.g. gold, copper, aluminium, as magnetic or non-magnetic
- That magnets can repel as well as attract
These resources were initially developed in partnership with the Centre for Science Education, Sheffield Hallam University.
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