Magnetic appeal of fourth grade

Two girls writing down their observations

The young physicists in Christina Zontini’s fourth grade at Albany International Center used the scientific method Wednesday to study magnetic attraction.

Students worked in teams to identify 19 different materials ranging from copper foil to yarn to steel paperclips, predicted whether each material had magnetic properties, tested their hypotheses and recorded their observations and findings.

You can see a Facebook photo album of their work here. (You don't need a Facebook account to see the photos linked in the highlighted text above. A window may appear that says, "To see more from Albany City Schools on Facebook, log on or create an account,” but you can dismiss it by clicking “not now.”)

On Thursday, they’ll learn WHY certain magnets are attracted to certain materials.