Objective: Students will gain some understanding of the "pull" of a magnet.

Make several small plasticine robots. Push a metal thumb tack into the bottom of each. Place the figures on a thin tray or cookie sheet. Hold a magnet under the tray and make the robots search for their breakfast. If they don't move, try a stronger magnet.

Lay three steel sewing needles on a bar magnet for 5 minutes. For this experiment to work successfully, the needles must be attracted to the magnet. Cut out 3 triangular pieces of light cardboard about the length of a needle. These are the boats. Lay the boats on the surface of the water. Move a magnet around the outside of the bowl. Watch the motion of the boats.