Appropriate grades or age groups:
K-5

Estimated time to complete project or implement technique:
1 hour

Materials needed (if applicable):
pie pan
water
dishwashing liquid
bar magnet
needle
+ inch slice of cork
logbook and pencil

Project instructions or description of technique:
1) This is a fun way to learn about the North Pole? gravitational pull, giving your child the ability to have a relationship with direction.

2) Fill a pie pan with water.

3) Add a few drops of dish liquid soap.

4) Magnetize your needle by scraping it across the north end of the bar magnet from the eye of the needle to it? point.

5) Repeat 15 times.

6) Remember to scrape the needle in the same direction every time -- don? rub it back and forth.

7) Carefully poke the needle through a small piece of cork.

8) Float the cork in the middle of the pie pan.

9) The needle will always point north.

10) Have a discussion about the earth's magnetic pull with one end at the North and the other at the South Pole.

11) Explore with your new compass around the house and back yard.

12) Make observations and record where everything in your life is placed. Have fun!