In this activity, students will demonstrate the generator effect, which is due to electromagnetic induction when a conductor (a long metal wire) moves through a magnetic field. Materials required to this activity include: a 100-foot extension cord... (View More) with ground prong, current or voltage galvanometer, two lead wires with alligator clips on at least one end, and one compass. This activity must be done in an open space large enough to swing a 100-foot cord as a jump rope, such as a gymnasium or outdoor field. This is activity three of "Exploring Magnetism." The guide includes science background information, student worksheets, glossary and related resources. (View Less)

This is a lesson about magnetism and solar flares. Learners will evaluate real solar data and images in order to calculate the energy and magnetic strength of a solar flare moving away from the Sun as a coronal mass ejection. This is Activity 3 in... (View More) the Exploring Magnetism in Solar Flares teachers guide. (View Less)

This is an activity about magnetic induction. Learners will induce a flow of electricity in a wire using a moving bar magnet and measure this flow using a galvanometer, or Am meter. Through discussion, this activity can then be related to magnetic... (View More) fields in nature. This activity requires use of a galvanometer, bar or cow magnet, and wire. This is the fifth lesson in the second session of the Exploring Magnetism teacher guide. (View Less)

This is an activity about the movement, or "wandering," of our Earth's magnetic poles. The learner will explore this concept by measuring and calculating the distance the Earth's north magnetic pole has moved over the past 400 years and calculating... (View More) the rate at which the magnetic pole location has changed its position during that time. Finally, learners will use this information to extrapolate how the region for viewing aurorae may change over the next century at the present rate of polar wander. This is Activity 6 in the Exploring Magnetism on Earth teachers guide. (View Less)

This is an activity about electromagnetism. Learners will use a simple circuit powered by a battery source to investigate the strength of the magnetic field produced by a coil of wire in the circuit. The strength will be indicated by the deflection... (View More) of magnetic compass needles and by the distance a coil of wire was moved by the action of the circuit. This activity requires coils or spools of wire, a knife switch, three magnetic compasses, a source of electricity such as 3 D-cell batteries or an AC to DC power adapter, alligator-clipped wire, and a bar or cow magnet. This is the fourth lesson in the second session of the Exploring Magnetism teachers guide. (View Less)

This is a lesson about magnetism in solar flares. Learners will map magnetic fields around bar magnets and investigate how this configuration relates to magnetic fields of sunspots. This activity requires compasses, bar magnets, and a equipment for... (View More) the instructor to project a PowerPoint or pdf lecture presentation. This is Activity 1 in the Exploring Magnetism in Solar Flares teachers guide. (View Less)

This is an activity about the periodic reversals of Earth's magnetic field. Learners will graph the frequency of magnetic pole reversals over the past 800,000 years and investigate answers to questions using the graphed data. This is Activity 8 in... (View More) the Exploring Magnetism on Earth teachers guide. (View Less)

This activity demonstrates Lenz's Law, which states that an induced electromotive force generates a current that induces a counter magnetic field that opposes the magnetic field generating the current. In the demonstration, an empty aluminum can... (View More) floats on water in a tray, such as a Petri dish. Students spin a magnet just inside the can without touching the can. The can begins to spin. Understanding what happens can be explained in steps: first, the twirling magnet creates an alternating magnetic field. Students can use a nearby compass to observe that the magnetic field is really changing. Second, the changing magnetic field permeates most things around it, including the aluminum can itself. A changing magnetic field will cause an electric current to flow when there is a closed loop of an electrically conducting material. Even though the aluminum can is not magnetic, it is metal and will conduct electricity. So the twirling magnet causes an electrical current to flow in the aluminum can. This is called an "induced current." Third, all electric currents create magnetic fields. So, in essence, the induced electrical current running through the can creates its very own magnetic field, making the aluminum can magnetic. This is activity four of "Exploring Magnetism." The guide includes science background information, student worksheets, glossary and related resources. (View Less)

This is an activity about measuring the interplanetary magnetic field, or IMF. Learners will utilize cardboard boxes with a magnet inside to design a spacecraft, and experiment with ways to attach a magnetometer that will measure the IMF rather than... (View More) the magnetic field of the spacecraft. This is Activity 2 in Session 3 of the Exploring Magnetism in the Solar Wind teachers guide. (View Less)

This is an activity about using spectrogram plots as an indicator of magnetic activity on Earth. Learners will analyze spectrogram data and compare it to local Kp indices in an attempt to determine global magnetic storminess. This activity uses real... (View More) data from the THEMIS (Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms) Magnetometer, and requires a computer with Internet access. This is activity 20 in the Exploring Magnetism: Earth's Magnetic Personality teachers guide. (View Less)

This is a lesson plan for an activity that explores time zone math. Learners will translate their local time to times in other zones around the world and work with the concept of Universal Time, specifically in reference to the reporting,... (View More) description and analysis of solar flares and coronal mass ejections. This is activity 10 from Exploring Magnetism Guide 3: Magnetic Mysteries of the Aurora educator guide. (View Less)

This is lesson to begin learners' thinking about magnetic influence. Learners will watch a classroom demonstration about the effect of magnets on iron filings and then complete a journal assignment to record their reactions and thoughts. This is the... (View More) first activity in the Mapping Magnetic Influence educators guide. (View Less)

This is an activity about the properties and characteristics of Earth’s magnetic field as shown through magnetometer data and its 3D vector nature. This resource builds understanding of conceptual tools such as the addition of vectors and... (View More) interpreting contour maps displaying magnetic signature data. Learners will make several paper 3D vector addition models, watch podcasts on how to analyze magnetometer data, and employ 3D vector plots to create a model of the 3D magnetic field in the location of the magnetometer closest to their town. This is a multi-step activity with corresponding worksheets for each step. The activity uses data from the THEMIS (Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms) GEONS magnetometer, and requires the use of a computer with internet access and speakers, 2-inch polystyrene balls and bamboo skewers. This is activity 16 from Exploring Magnetism: Earth's Magnetic Personality. (View Less)

This is an activity about electromagnetism and the Sun. First, learners will do a KWL activity using six vocabulary words. Next, they will build an electromagnet and investigate how it works. Finally, learners will relate the workings of their... (View More) electromagnet to a Solar Dynamics Observatory magnetogram image of the Sun. Per group of learners, this activity requires materials such as a length of insulated wire, alligator clips, a 2-D-battery holder, two D-batteries, and a nail. (View Less)

This is an activity about magnets and magnetism. Learners first make predictions about magnets, such as a list of the types of materials a magnet will pick up, how a magnet can be made, and how a compass can be made. Next, learners test their... (View More) predictions using simple experiments, and, finally, reflect on their predictions. This is the second activity in the Mapping Magnetic Influence educators guide. (View Less)

This is a summative activity about magnets. Learners will observe a demonstration of the action of a magnet on a test tube of iron filings, answer questions, and, using the concepts learned in previous activities, write an essay about their... (View More) understanding of the demonstration. This is the fourth activity in the Mapping Magnetic Influence educators guide. Learners should complete the other three activities in that guide (Seeing Magnetism, What Do You Know about Magnets, and Magnet Map) prior to beginning this activity. (View Less)

This is an activity about changes in the Earth's magnetic field during magnetic storms. Learners will construct a soda bottle magnetometer, collect data, and analyze the results to detect magnetic storm events. The operation of the student-created... (View More) instrument can be directly related to THEMIS (Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms) display measurements. In this activity, learners should ideally collect data over the course of an entire month. This is activity 17 in Exploring Magnetism: Earth's Magnetic Personality. (View Less)

This is an activity about depicting magnetic polarity. Learners will observe several provided drawings of magnetic field line patterns for bar magnets in simple orientations of like and unlike polarities and carefully draw the field lines and depict... (View More) the polarities for several orientations, including an arrangement of six magnetic poles. This is the fourth activity in the Magnetic Math booklet; this booklet can be found on the Space Math@NASA website. (View Less)

This is an activity about mapping magnetic fields. Learners use a test magnet to create a map of the magnetic field region around a bar magnet. A Magnaprobe, or other similar test magnet, is required to do this activity. This is the third activity... (View More) in the Mapping Magnetic Influence educators guide. (View Less)

This is an activity about depicting the relative strength of magnetic fields using field line density. Learners will use the magnetic field line drawing of six magnetic poles created in a previous activity and identify the areas of strong, weak, and... (View More) medium magnetic intensity using the density of magnetic field lines. This is the fifth activity in the Magnetic Math booklet; this booklet can be found on the Space Math@NASA website. How to Draw Magnetic Fields - II in the Magnetic Math booklet must be completed prior to this activity. (View Less)