Looking At Strong Magnets

For many years now, one of the more difficult to deal with subject matters for so many young students to take on has been science. There are so many reasons this is so, but probably among the foremost is the mysteries that many simply do not understand or easily get. One of the keys in addressing this problem is for a good teacher to go out of their way to get the students actively involved in the process, and have them start working on various experiments and tests. The good news is that getting this process going can be relatively simple and inexpensive to do. Basically, one can get going using simple items such as toothpicks, strong magnets and rubber bands.


Learning about distance, force and velocity can come to the students through the rubber bands. Creating catapults using items such as tape and light woods, and powering them by the rubber bands is a great place to begin. Prizes might then be offered to the students who construct the catapults that are able to project items the farthest distance. Besides enjoying the process immensely, the sense of competition created also helps spur on the student's best efforts.





Strong magnets can also be a source of much interest for the students as they try to grasp the concept of how they actually work. It is fascinating to watch young students tossing items such as paper clips over the magnets sitting on a table-top, and trying to figure how those tossed closely are drawn in and attached to the magnet while others thrown a bit away from the item pass it by. Trying to understand the dynamics of how this all works will be something that will inspire the student's mind to deeper thought and higher goals, and will help them develop the life long desire to better understand things around them.

Students have long ago discovered the combination of glue and toothpicks in the construction of bridges. While having fun and being creative, they are also beginning to understand and grasp the concepts of different type designs. Offering and giving out prizes to the students who come up with the most creative or strongest designs can be a tremendous incentive to do well, and along the way they will be developing their own creative talents to get the job done. Doing this in these relatively simple experiments will definitely offer great benefits with ever more difficult problems and issues moving forward.


The bottom line for the teachers, parents and other concerned adults is to try and create items of interest that will inspire the youngsters and make them ever more eager to learn and understand. Inspiring the mind to work overtime learning and continually questioning will have lifelong positive implications to be sure.