Experimenting with Electromagnets

Today Owen had some great ideas he wanted to try out, saying, "I think most of science is asking questions." He's totally right and it's great how he's asking questions to extend what we're talking about in class. We've been learning about forces from a distance and applying them to electromagnets currently. 

First, Owen decided to try using the hand crank generator to create his electromagnet instead of the batteries that we've been using, getting a little help from Kasem and Omar.

Then he decided to look at the pencil sharpener that was broken apart. He first tried plugging in the pencil sharpener and seeing if the coil attracted paper clips but found it was weak. Then, he tried putting a pencil in, and WOW! The electromagnet was VERY strong. 

Great job, Owen! Really wonderful scientific thinking and experimenting!