All Resources

Find Your Attraction

In this activity, students run around and attract to their opposite magnetic polarity sign at the signal.

Objectives

  • Explain the difference between attraction and repulsion.

Materials

  • Per Class:
    20 “+” labels
    20 “-“ labels

Key Questions

  • Why are two players eliminated after the switch?

What To Do

  1. Half of the students wear a “+” sign tag, and half wear a “-“ sign
  2. When the teacher/leader shouts “attract!” everyone must find their opposite sign and hold on to them, but when “repel!” is called out, everyone lets go and returns to running around.
  3. When everyone is paused in an “attract” stance, the teacher/leader switches one student’s sign so that the groups are uneven. The next time “attract” is called, two people won’t have a match and they are eliminated from the game.
  4. Continue playing and switching “+” to “-“ (or vice versa) until students are all eliminated and two players (the winners!) are left standing.

Extensions

  • With an older group, students could have “+” on head and “-“ on feet. When “attract” is called, students have to arrange themselves in the correct orientation relative to each other or to an electric field in the room (e.g. basketball hoop is north). You can mix up the points of reference for the alignment (if students are strong magnets they line up relative to each other; if they are weak magnets, the students line up according to the room’s field). The last student to get arranged is eliminated.

About the sticker

Survivors

Artist: Jeff Kulak

Jeff is a senior graphic designer at Science World. His illustration work has been published in the Walrus, The National Post, Reader’s Digest and Chickadee Magazine. He loves to make music, ride bikes, and spend time in the forest.

About the sticker

Egg BB

Artist: Jeff Kulak

Jeff is a senior graphic designer at Science World. His illustration work has been published in the Walrus, The National Post, Reader’s Digest and Chickadee Magazine. He loves to make music, ride bikes, and spend time in the forest.

About the sticker

Comet Crisp

Artist: Jeff Kulak

Jeff is a senior graphic designer at Science World. His illustration work has been published in the Walrus, The National Post, Reader’s Digest and Chickadee Magazine. He loves to make music, ride bikes, and spend time in the forest.

About the sticker

T-Rex and Baby

Artist: Michelle Yong

Michelle is a designer with a focus on creating joyful digital experiences! She enjoys exploring the potential forms that an idea can express itself in and helping then take shape.

About the sticker

Buddy the T-Rex

Artist: Michelle Yong

Michelle is a designer with a focus on creating joyful digital experiences! She enjoys exploring the potential forms that an idea can express itself in and helping then take shape.

About the sticker

Geodessy

Artist: Michelle Yong

Michelle is a designer with a focus on creating joyful digital experiences! She enjoys exploring the potential forms that an idea can express itself in and helping then take shape.

About the sticker

Science Buddies

Artist: Ty Dale

From Canada, Ty was born in Vancouver, British Columbia in 1993. From his chaotic workspace he draws in several different illustrative styles with thick outlines, bold colours and quirky-child like drawings. Ty distils the world around him into its basic geometry, prompting us to look at the mundane in a different way.

About the sticker

Western Dinosaur

Artist: Ty Dale

From Canada, Ty was born in Vancouver, British Columbia in 1993. From his chaotic workspace he draws in several different illustrative styles with thick outlines, bold colours and quirky-child like drawings. Ty distils the world around him into its basic geometry, prompting us to look at the mundane in a different way.

About the sticker

Time-Travel T-Rex

Artist: Ty Dale

From Canada, Ty was born in Vancouver, British Columbia in 1993. From his chaotic workspace he draws in several different illustrative styles with thick outlines, bold colours and quirky-child like drawings. Ty distils the world around him into its basic geometry, prompting us to look at the mundane in a different way.