Max's Magnet Lab

Hi, I'm Max! 👋

Hey, I'm Max! This bench is covered in iron filings — thousands of tiny bits of iron, too small to pick up. On their own they just lie there. But put a magnet down and every single one of them turns to face the same invisible pattern, all at once. That pattern is called a magnetic field, and it is really there, all around the magnet, even when there is nothing to show it. Put two magnets near each other and try both ways round: red end facing blue end, then red facing red. One way they rush together. The other way they shove each other apart, and no matter what you do, you cannot make them touch. Then grab the paper clip, the penny, the key, and find out which ones jump — because "metal" and "magnetic" are not the same thing at all. Go on, put something down.