Building Electromagnets

After studying series and parallel circuits, I issued the kids a challenge.  Turn a steel rivet into a temporary magnet.  I gave teams of scientists a battery, switch, 150cm wire, small washers, and a steel rivet.  After 10 minutes or so, one team experimented with wrapping the wire around the rivet (with electricity flowing through the wire).  The other teams quickly revised their own approaches, and soon each team in the class had created their own electromagnet.  I was proud of the way our kids experimented with their thinking - trying out ideas, revising their ideas, listening and building off each other's thinking.  Unfortunately, some of the batteries provided by our district were weak, so some teams weren't able to pick up a lot of the washers.  But that was OK - it just led to another investigation exploring how to strengthen an electromagnet. 

My favorite part of the following video is the very end.  You can hear our principal begin making the afternoon announcements, and Will lets out a "Aaarrggh" in disappointment - our science time is over.  I wish everyday ended like that - sighs of disappointment that our class time is over for the day.