My kids are fascinated by a compass. I love to capitalize on my children’s interests in school so I decided to teach them how to make a compass.
If your kid’s have never seen a compass, have them read a few pirate books and they’ll become familiar with this navigational device very quickly.
In fact, every September my kids start asking for books and activities about pirates in anticipation of Talk Like a Pirate Day. In fact, we end up having month-long pirate fun because the kids start planning treasure hunts and other activities for each other.
A few years ago I planned an entire unit study based on the Magic Treehouse Research Guide about Pirates by Mary Pope Osborne. One of my kids’ favorite activities was learning how to make a compass that actually worked.
(If you haven’t read the Magic Treehouse series with your kids I highly recommend it. Even my super fidgety boys loved these books!)
The best part about this homeschool science project is that you already have these items in your house. No last minute trips to the store to pick up the supplies and end up with six boxes of BOGO pop tarts in your cart. (Oh, is this just my kids???)
How to Make a Compass
Whether you’re studying pirates, magnets, magnetic fields, or directions, this is an easy science activity to include in your homeschool week.
Supplies Needed
- Paper plate
- Ball of clay
- Sharpened pencil
- Horseshoe magnet
- Science notebook or piece of paper
I realize not everyone has a horseshoe magnet in their house- however if you are a homeschool family you probably do. Because homeschool families have all the science things. ALL OF THEM.
Instructions
When you’re ready to try it out, have your kids:
- put their clay in the center of the paper plates.
- place the pencil into the clay {eraser side down} so it stands up straight .
- balance the horseshoe magnet on the tip of the pencil and watch what happens.
- record their observations by drawing and/or writing in their notebooks.
What’s Happening
The magnet, if balanced well, will spin until it comes to a rest in a north-south direction. If you have a real compass in the house, pull it out to check the accuracy of your handmade one.
Just like the needle of a compass, the horseshoe magnet is affected by the magnetic field of the earth. And, as opposites attract, the south pole of the magnet points toward earth’s magnetic north pole.
More hands-on science fun!
One benefit of homeschooling is that you can teach your children practical life skills. While I believe “sense of direction” is something people are born with (for example my sister and I can go someplace once and it is forever ingrained in our memory- my brother had a hard time finding his way home from high school his senior year). I think kids should be taught how to read a map.
Understanding North, East, South, and West is an important part of learning directions.
Once your children have finished making their own compass, reinforce the cardinal directions with this worksheet.
Your children will use the compass on the worksheet to become more familiar with the directions.
After they have completed the worksheet you can continue the exercise with a globe or map.
Another fun activity is to figure out which way your house faces and then give directions using only North, South, East, West. It’s a great practical activity for your kids.
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