Electromagnet Games

Virtual Magnet

• HMH School Publishers has created a virtual magnet game at the Harcourt School website where the player's goal is to pick up a certain number of paperclips based on the spin of a board. The player must strengthen and weaken the electromagnet by lessening or raising the battery power as well as the coils that wrap around the nail. It shows a physical picture of an electromagnet and also offers hints to perfect the game.

Trivia

• At the Fun Trivia website, a quiz and trivia game is available related to magnets and electromagnets. The questions go into various aspects of electromagnets, ranging from how they work to conceptual analysis. The 10-question quiz game can be effective after a lesson plan, showing whether kids grasp the concepts surrounding electromagnets.

Electromagnetic Spectrum Game

• For games related to the electromagnetic spectrum, then nothing serves a more useful purpose than being able to identify the types of light, ranging from visible and infrared light to gamma rays and ultraviolet light. The Purpose Games website provides a blank chart of the electromagnetic spectrum. When you begin, the game will start a timer and ask you to fill in different areas of the spectrum -- the faster you can feel in the blanks, the better your score.

Build an Electromagnet

• Although not a game with rules, an extremely informative and easy activity to perform is building an electromagnet from scratch. Very few materials are needed. For an extremely basic magnet, use a long copper wire, nail and a battery. Wind the copper wire around the nail several times, making sure to make each coil side by side and straight. Leave enough slack at both ends of the wire to be able to attach it to the battery. When attached, the electricity flowing through coil and around the iron-core nail will create an electromagnetic field that can then be used to pick up metallic objects. Challenge your students to see who can build an electromagnet the fastest.