Magnet Science Activity for Kids

Magnets are fun to play with for kids of all ages. Even as an adult, I think they are fun to mess around with! This Magnet Science Activity for Kids is not only entertaining, but educational as well.

For older kids, this would be a great activity to explore how magnets work. They can hypothesize which items will be attracted to magnets and which may not. This is also a good opportunity to talk about gradients in relation to magnets. If you are doing a study on the letter ‘M’ with younger kids, this magnet activity might be perfect to incorporate into that as well!

Magnet Science Activity for Kids

Materials Needed:

2 pounds (32 ounces) of dry white rice
1 container to hold the rice
various small toys, coins, beads, seeds, nuts, etc.
magnetic wands

Please be sure to watch young children with this activity as it includes small pieces.

Directions:
1. Place your rice into the container. Add small toys and mix well with your fingers.

2. For older kids, try adding in some items that have different gradients such as other magnets, keys, and paperclips. Also, be sure to put some items in that may be tricky to figure out such as toy cars that look like they are metal but are in fact, not.

3. Use the wand to locate the magnetic items and sort them into piles. After they are sorted, take out the wand again and see how magnetized each item is.

Here are some questions to consider:

Does it go quickly to the magnet from far away or must you get closer?
Does it cling strongly to the magnet?
Does the magnet actually push the item away, instead?
Is the magnet strong enough to draw it even if there is an object such as a table or piece of cardboard between the object and the magnet?