How to make a compass

I was scrolling through my stockpiled post ideas looking for inspiration and saw this how to make a compass lesson we’d done years ago, like my kids were in middle school years ago. I somehow never wrote about this particular bit of Earth Science, and I’m realizing I have some truly random science lessons to share with you still, so here goes our how to make a compass lesson.

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How to make a compass supplies

needle (I totally admit I’m linking to these needles because of the case), magnet (picked because it’s easy to hold), bowl of water, small piece of cork or something similar that floats (I used cork on hand from a “potion bottle”), blue tape

Simple compass science lesson

A compass works because of the magnetic field of the earth, so to make a compass you need to magnetize a piece of metal.

Rub the needle in the same direction across a magnet. Make sure to not rub the needle back and forth, only in the same direction.

Carefully tape the needle to the cork, you could also skewer the needle through the cork, but that might be more difficult.

Wait as the cork floats in the water and the magnetized needle aligns with the pole directions.

That’s it, but it is a pretty cool way to demonstrate the magnetic fields earth is surrounded by.

Make a compass extension activities

Making a compass is a rather short activity, from start to finish, it was only a few minutes, so after making our compass, we created a map making sure it was aligned to the compass rose.

As you can see, our room is not exactly aligned with the compass. It is at a slight angle.

If the day is sunny, you could take your bowl compass outside and compare it to the location of the sun.

Why does this work to make a compass?

how to make a compass earth science 5th 6th

There are a lot of videos telling how to make a compass, but very few explains why it works, so after much searching I found this older clip from a TV show that explained how to make a compass, mixed in with little tidbits of why this works.

I found this cool video on how to make a compass with a needle and a leaf. it was really cool to watch, because this method does not need a magnet.

But, I also want to give you a nice solid scientific explanation of why this works.

And because I like having books to read, not just videos, here are some books from my library.

You Can Use a Compass– A rookie reader book, but I love this series for 1st graders
What Makes a Magnet– A step up, this book is for 2nd/3rd grade, and focuses more on the magnetic field and how it works

Quick side note on grade level

We completed this activity when the kids were in 5th or 6th grade. Obviously, this is an activity that much younger kids could complete, and you just need to figure out what adaptations to make for your age level.

As we were completing this particular science curriculum, I was coming to the conclusion it was too easy for the kids, and while it was rated as middle school, it was a bit more elementary-aged. Around this time we moved to completing two lessons a week rather than one lesson a week, and ended up not having a solid curriculum science curriculum that year.

Let’s find some more science lessons for you to try with your kids

I like science lessons, especially hands-on science lessons.

I’ve picked out a couple of different lessons for different ages and covering different topics.