<strong>DIY electromagnet: A fascinating STEM activity for students</strong>
Magnets never fail to intrigue kids. In fact, many of us, during our growing up years, used to think that magnets have magical powers, thanks to their capacity of attracting and repelling objects. Want to enlighten your kids about magnets and magnetic fields? Introduce them to a STEM activity called DIY electromagnet. It will teach children how to turn an ordinary nail into a functional magnet by using home staples. This easy and simple activity will be a great hands-on experience for them.
What you’ll need
- A 5 inches long iron nail
- Pencil battery
- Paper pins
- A magnet wire
- Electric tape
- A pair of scissors
How to
Here is a step-by-step guide for the activity. Help your kids follow these.
- For the first step, ask your child to make sure that the iron nail is free of any surface dirt and rust. The goal is to turn it as clean as possible.
- Next, have him take the magnet wire and wrap it around the nail. Ask them to make sure that about 6 inches of the wire is left loose at the ends.
- Advise your youngster to ensure that he or she winds the wire around the nail in such a way that it doesn’t overlap. The aim is to leave an inch uncovered on each end of the nail.
- After the nail is properly wrapped, ask tour child to carefully cut off the wire using the scissors, leaving 6 inches loose.
- At this stage, your child should gently scrape the loose ends of the wire (2 inches on both sides) to remove the outer coating.
- Once the above step is done, ask your child to child to attach the ends to the pencil battery and secure them with the tape.
- Well, the DIY electromagnet is ready now!
The science behind the experiment
An electromagnet is a type of magnet which attracts metals only when it is electrically activated. This is what exactly happens here. Once the DIY electromagnet is ready, bring the uncovered ends of the nail near paper pin, you will see that the magnet instantly attracts the steel that the pin is made of. Likewise, if one end of the wire is unsecured from the battery, the electromagnet loses its power and fails to attract the pin.