Magnet Movers Set | U-Shaped Horseshoe Magnet 13×15.5×2.6 cm

The horseshoe shape is not decorative. Bending a bar magnet round brings both poles to the same end, and the two fields work together — which is why a U-magnet picks up noticeably more than a straight magnet of similar size.

Children discover that by trying it, and the discovery is more interesting than the fact. They can also feel the field concentrated between the two tips, a region where the pull changes sharply over a couple of centimetres.

At 13 × 15.5 cm this is a large, two-handed magnet, and the size makes it a demonstration tool as much as an investigation one. A whole group can see a chain of paper clips hanging from it across a classroom, where a small magnet has to be passed around.

Moving objects without touching them is the activity children return to: a paper clip on a table dragged along by a magnet held underneath, a metal car steered through a maze. That is genuine cause and effect with a mechanism they cannot see.

• U shape brings both poles together — lifts more than a bar magnet
• Field concentrated between the tips; the pull changes sharply
• Large enough to demonstrate to a whole group at once
• 13 × 15.5 × 2.6 cm, two-handed size
• Recommended ages 4–10

Part of the magnet range. For KG and primary science and magnetism topics.