Find Your Attraction

Objectives

• Explain the difference between attraction and repulsion.

Materials

• Per Class:
  20 “+” labels
  20 “-“ labels

Key Questions

• Why are two players eliminated after the switch?

What To Do

1. Half of the students wear a “+” sign tag, and half wear a “-“ sign
2. When the teacher/leader shouts “attract!” everyone must find their opposite sign and hold on to them, but when “repel!” is called out, everyone lets go and returns to running around.
3. When everyone is paused in an “attract” stance, the teacher/leader switches one student’s sign so that the groups are uneven. The next time “attract” is called, two people won’t have a match and they are eliminated from the game.
4. Continue playing and switching “+” to “-“ (or vice versa) until students are all eliminated and two players (the winners!) are left standing.

Extensions

• With an older group, students could have “+” on head and “-“ on feet. When “attract” is called, students have to arrange themselves in the correct orientation relative to each other or to an electric field in the room (e.g. basketball hoop is north). You can mix up the points of reference for the alignment (if students are strong magnets they line up relative to each other; if they are weak magnets, the students line up according to the room’s field). The last student to get arranged is eliminated.