This experiment actually works for kids of all ages, but it was great with my four year old. I put together a whole bunch of super-random items that could/couldn't be magnetic. The list included scissors, nails, parts from a screwdriver, screws, coins (from america and around the world!), paper clips, pine cone, plastic cap, metal baby spoon with covered plastic end, etc.
And then I gave her a medium sized magnet and let her hypothesize what she thought would be attracted to the magnet and what she thought wouldn't be. She had a blast discovering unexpected things. Like that the sparkly marble wasn't magnetic. Her hypothesis was that anything sparkly/lustrous was iron/steel. I thought that was interesting.
And then there were a few things that took even me by surprise. Like the fact that a nickel is not attracted to a magnet, but an Jordanian coin is. Interesting, wonder why? And the fact that the magnet will stick to the plastic cap if a paper clip is under it. Neat! And the plastic coated baby spoon that stuck to the magnet from both ends!
A fun extension to this experiment is to tie a string to a paper clip, and let your child hold the string/clip over a magnet and watch it twirl and dance, feel the magnetic force...
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