All About Magnets

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Stick' em on your fridge, don't put them near computer discs, sail the seven seas with them. Magnets are way cool to little folks, and this excellent video shows why they're interesting as well as fun. The scientific principles of polar attraction and repulsion are demonstrated by a young child with a magnet set, magnetic fields are visualized via the classic iron-filings-on-paper routine, and--most fun of all--viewers see an experiment proving that iron-fortified breakfast cereal really does contain iron (crush the cereal, add water, stir with a magnet, and after ten minutes, iron has attached itself to the magnet!). In addition, electromagnets are explained through wonderful footage of a junkyard electromagnet easily moving around tons of scrap, followed by a discussion of "bullet trains" (too bad they didn't mention the commonly accepted term "mag lev"--magnetic levitation--for the train; vocabulary enrichment is always desirable). Schlessinger has considered every librarian's frustration and every borrower's annoyance: teacher's guides that get separated from the video, and provided both in-print and online teacher's guides (hooray, hooray!). Highly recommended for its fun and scientifically sound approach to the topic. The 10 other titles in the Physical Science for Children series are: All About Electricity, All About Flight, All About Forces & Gravity, All About Light, All About Motion & Balance, All About Properties of Matter, All About Simple Machines, All About Sound, All About Waves and All About Solids, Liquids & Gases.

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K-Gr 4 - Magnets have always held a strange attraction for children. This live-action video shows how magnets work. The female narrator discusses what a magnet will and will not stick to, and then takes it down to the atomic level to show why. North and south poles on a magnet are explained, as well as the fact that opposites attract and likes repel. Magnetic fields are introduced and shown using iron filings. Many types of magnets are presented including lodestones, permanent magnets, temporary magnets, and electromagnets. Real-life applications of magnets are shown. Several simple science experiments are demonstrated. The video points out that the Earth itself is a giant magnet, and that without magnets our lives would be very different. Key points are reviewed and reinforced. This interesting and well-organized video teaches useful information in a clear and concise manner. It would be a valuable addition to primary science units.

Copyright 2000 School Library Journal. Used with permission.

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