Magnet Hunt
Testing a guess: magnets pick up things with iron in them, but not wood, plastic or even foil.
How it plays
A thing is shown: a paperclip, a pencil, a nail, a teddy, a bottle cap, some foil. Your child guesses “It sticks” or “It doesn't”, then a big magnet swings down and the thing jumps up, or it doesn't. No guess is ever wrong. Foil is the surprise: it's a metal, but it doesn't stick.
What it's for
Testing a guess: magnets pick up things with iron in them, but not wood, plastic or even foil. There is no score to lose and no way to fail: a wrong move is met with a gentle nudge, and a level ends when it's done.
Safety: Small, strong magnets are dangerous if swallowed: two can pull together inside the body. Use a big fridge magnet, together, and keep small magnets away from young children. If you think a child has swallowed a magnet, get urgent medical help. Water play is always with a grown-up. ACCC Product Safety Australia.
Away from the screen: A fridge magnet hunt
About two minutes, with things most homes have.
- Take one big fridge magnet off the fridge. Keep small, strong magnets away from young children.
- Walk round the kitchen together and try it on things.
- Before each one, your child guesses: will it stick?
- Try foil, a spoon, the fridge door and a tin.
Three questions to ask while they play
- Do you think it'll stick?
- Which things stuck? What are they made of?
- Why do you think the foil didn't stick?
Play together
Things to say or ask
- Good guess! Let's see.
- Foil is a metal, but it didn't stick. Surprise!
Taking turns on one device: Take turns: one of you guesses, the other presses the button.
If they find it hard
Stay with the first level until they've seen a few stick and a few not stick. The guess is what matters, not getting it right.
Every fact, and where it comes from
What Ruby Roo says in Magnet Hunt was checked against the page it links to.
- Some metals, including iron, nickel and cobalt, are attracted to magnets. Everyday steel things (nails, screws, paperclips, bottle caps) have iron in them. (Questacon)
- Not every metal is magnetic: in Questacon's demonstration, aluminium (kitchen foil) doesn't stick. (Questacon)
- Small, strong magnets are dangerous if swallowed: two or more can pull together through the wall of the intestine. Keep them away from young children, use a big fridge magnet together, and if you think a child has swallowed a magnet, get urgent medical help. (ACCC Product Safety Australia)
What it practises
- Sorting by two things. Putting things into groups by what they look like, then by two things at once: orange and round, small and pointy.
AC9MFSP01 (Mathematics, Foundation); AC9MFM01 (Mathematics, Foundation); EYLF 4.2 (Early Years Learning Framework V2.0) - Looking and finding. For two- and three-year-olds: looking for something hidden, and knowing it's still there when you can only see a bit of it.
EYLF 4.2 (Early Years Learning Framework V2.0)
The codes are from the Early Years Learning Framework V2.0 (for children from birth to five) and the Australian Curriculum v9 (Foundation to Year 2). Each links to the official wording. Every skill, and the games for it.
What it costs, and what we collect
Nothing, and nothing. There is no account, no advertising and no tracking of any kind. Which games have been played is remembered on your own device and is never sent anywhere. The full version is here, and it's short.
Where it lives
Magnet Hunt is part of Science Lab. It works on a phone, a tablet or a classroom screen, and once it's been opened it keeps working with no signal at all.
Updated