Three Types Of Useful Magnets

Magnets are very useful if you work in a school as a science teacher and want to give your students a hands-on way to learn about the way the world works. Children are always fascinated by magnets because they work in what appears to be such a mysterious way. They are like nothing that can be found anywhere else on the planet, attracting metal through the air with no strings, chains, or any other sorts of connections. You will want to have a wide variety of magnets in the classroom so that children will have a lot of choices. These could range from rod magnets to disc magnets to plate magnets.

Rod magnets are tall and straight and are generally useful for demonstrations where the magnet itself is kept stationary and things are drawn to it. The rod magnet could be set upright on a table and students could practice letting go of small metal objects such as paperclips to see them move across the table to the magnet. Because of the circular nature of the rod, metal objects can be drawn in from all sides.

Disc magnets are flat circles, just as their name implies, and they are most useful when you want the students to pick them up and move them around. The design makes them easy to carry and manipulate, and you can get them in a variety of different sizes. You could use these by scattering small metal objects -- again, paperclips work the best; they are small, light, and inexpensive -- across the face of a table. You could then have the students run the magnets over the top to watch the paperclips jump up into the air.

Plate magnets are often used inside of tables -- you can buy a table with the magnet installed in the top surface. These tables will be very heavy and hard to move around, but they can provide a lot of fun experiences for children. Students will not have to use a separate magnet, but can just use the face of the table itself. One good way to show the effectiveness and let the students have a little bit of fun is to have them throw paperclips over the plate magnet set into the table. The paperclips will fly part way over, then suddenly drop down, and stick to the face of the table in a way that does not look at all natural.

All told, magnets are great for classrooms. Children will look forward to using them, which makes it much easier for you, as the teacher, to work with the students. Using rod magnets, disc magnets, and plate magnets will give you plenty of different options.

For more information Visit our blog or go directly to our website.