If you mix iron filings with baby oil or vegetable oil in a quart jar, shake the mixture very well, and then hold a magnet near the jar, you can see magnetic fields in 3-D! It's really cool and we played with it for a long time. (It's a bit tricky to clean the jar afterwards, but if you let the filings settle, pour out most of the oil, and then wipe the jar out with a paper towel, you can avoid getting most of the filings into your sink drain.)
Different kinds of magnets make different fields! It's fun to experiment with.
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The little ones loved it too.
Stronger magnets pull more filings into their field!
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