Your child has been using our Magnets loans box in class. NUSTEM loans boxes are linked to STEM careers and contain original objects and replicas that can be handled and used as part of classroom activities. While using the resources in the boxes, children get the opportunity to try out and explore some of the skills, techniques, equipment and ideas that STEM professionals use on a day-to-day basis.
Your child has used our magnets box to investigate magnetic and non-magnetic objects and surfaces around their setting, and to discover how magnets can pull and push. What else have they discovered about magnets?
Try this at home
Visit our STEM at home Make a Magnet Maze page to discover how to move an object around a maze without touching it. All you need is a magnet, a paper plate and a magnet object such as a paper clip or washer.
Careers Link- what is a magnet engineer?
Magnetic engineers design magnets, or machines and devices that contain magnets. Magnets are in many of the systems that make modern life possible. For example they are used in computer data storage, alarm systems, microphones and speakers, motors, electrical generators and transformers.
Electricity generation relies on magnets to create and electric current, and magnets are used in transformers in the National Grid to transfer the electricity around the country. Some vending machines use magnets to differentiate coins from other material to prevent theft.
Large electromagnets are used in construction and at junkyards to move materials. They are also used to suspend and accelerate maglev trains.
Magnets are also used in MRI scanners in hospitals which helps to produce detailed three dimensional images of inside the body.
After a magnet has been designed, magnet engineers define manufacturing processes and testing strategies, then analyse test results, and present them in the form of operating instructions and manuals.
Careers linked to the Magnets box
Your child may have looked at these careers at school.
Each career has 3 personal qualities to focus on. We call these attributes. We want to show children that they already have the skills that they need to have a career in Science, Technology, Engineering or Maths (STEM).
Magnet engineers are:
Curious- about how they can use magnets in different machines.
Creative- when they use magnets in their designs.
Observant- when they look closely at what magnets can do.
