19 Apr How to Make a Compass with Simple Household Items

Every once in a while, in our homeschool, I’ve noticed a recurring subject. Recently it’s been the compass. It has come up in our history lessons, geography lessons, and science lessons. I love when it all comes together and the children make real connections between it all. To make the subject more alive, we decided to learn how to make a compass with simple household items.

We started off by a fun little experiment with our magnets. Clark and Luci both assembled a few common household items that they thought would attract the magnets. They were surprised to find  what was drawn to the magnets and what was not!

What You’ll Need

A small container for water. We used plastic cups to minimize spillage.
Sharpie markers
Scissors
Needle
A small piece of plastic, a cork, or a small circle of foam
Magnets

How to Make a Compass with Simple Household Items

Begin by rubbing one end of the needle to the North end of the magnet. We made sure we made the pointy end North and the eye of the needle South. I instructed Clark and Luci rub it 100 times. Luci studiously counted to 100 while stroking the needle on the magnet. Clark – not so much. Once you have magnetized the North end, rub the other end of the needle on the South end of the magnet.

We then cut one-inch circles out of the plastic wrapping that the magnets came in. You can use anything that floats for this part of the assembly. I’ve seen the needle pushed through a cork, or a piece of foam. The important part is that the magnetized needle is kept afloat.

Place the needle in a cup of water, so that it floats on the surface. Set it on a firm, flat surface and allow a few seconds for the needle to stabilize. Once it stops moving, label the cup with a Sharpie. The pointy end of the needle should be pointing North, and the eye of the needle should be pointing South. We were able to verify this using my iPhone app.

Now you can send the kids on a treasure hunt using their homemade compasses! It’s kind of crazy to think how this tiny little device literally changed the course of history, isn’t it?!