Many years ago, in Ancient Greece, there was a place called Magnesia. The people there noticed something very strange: some stones could pull iron toward them all by themselves. They did not know why this happened, and many believed that these might be magical stones from the gods. Nevertheless, people continued to observe the world around them and ask questions. Slowly, this curiosity led to the idea of magnetism. Today we know that these stones were natural magnets that attract iron.
Inspired by this ancient discovery and by the myths of the ancient Greeks, we carry out an experiment with magnetic slime! We create a fictional Cyclops named MagniSakis. According to mythology, the Cyclopes were craftsmen who worked with iron and fire deep inside the earth. So we make a slime that contains iron and bring a magnet close to it to observe what happens. When the magnet approaches, the slime begins to move and follow it, as if it were alive.
In reality, however, it does not move because it is alive, but because it contains iron, and iron is attracted to a magnet. In this way we observe the phenomenon of magnetism in practice and understand that, just like people in ancient times, science begins with observation, curiosity, and experiments.
We have chosen to participate because the children love experiments and experiential learning, especially children who are on the move. It is the most enjoyable part of the lesson! We create knowledge through play and creativity!