STEM Storytime: Magnetism

We had magnetic fun at the library during May's S.T.E.M. Storytime. We had so much fun, we never read a story! But we had a magnet book that we could refer to if we wanted.

We figured out that one end of a magnet attracts one end of another magnet, but repels the other end. So opposites attract! Some magnets were marked with N and S for North and South, but many were not marked - because they were toys!

We had Magnetic Thinking Putty, like slime, that was attracted by a giant, strong magnet. What was in the slime that made the magnet attract it? We had a rock, called hematite, that could be picked up by a tiny but powerful magnet. There was iron in the rock, and magnets attract iron. 

We made a looong string of magnets so tiny they were hard to pick up, but so strong that they were hard to manipulate. They just wanted to find another magnetic item to stick to!

We played a hard game called "Bells", where you had to use a magnetic wand to pick up only the color of bells you had decided to collect. The magnet in the wand was so powerful, it could pick up a whole line of bells. But if you got the wrong color, your turn was over. It was pretty tricky - but fun.

We even had Magformers to build with, thanks to the Royea family who let us borrow their sets. They're great toys, because the magnets are so powerful!