Although they may not realise it, most New Zealand children come into frequent contact with aluminium. They often make use of products containing aluminium metal, and aluminium compounds are often present in produce such as vegetables and manufactured items such as medicines.

What doesn’t breathe but can’t live without air, doesn’t drink but needs water near, never sleeps and won’t rest much, is stronger than steel, but crumbles at a touch?

Suzy has to dig deep to find the answer

Suzy finds the answer is quite attractive.

A magnetic field is affected as it passes through different materials. By carrying out an investigation with a small number of variables, students can learn about the scientific requirements of a fair test.

The lines of a magnetic field arc from one pole. Students can learn to recognise that there may be more than one reason for the patterns they see in their investigations.

In this episode Dr Michelle Dickinson will cover the different types and properties of materials, carry out a hands-on experiment and talk about nanomaterials with Associate Professor Nicola Gaston from The MacDiarmid Institute.

To explore non-contact forces (magnetism) by finding out what objects are attracted and not attracted to magnets, how objects behave and what they have in common.

Experiment with steel wool and vinegar. What kind of chemical reaction occurs when the iron in steel wool reacts with oxygen?

This book gives children opportunities to investigate the physical and chemical properties that combine in various metals, the origins of metals, and how people modify metals to suit their own purposes.