Find the Paperclips is not for the impatient. Here, four paperclips are hidden under a thin plastic sheet, a piece of white paper, and finally a piece of corrugated cardboard. Provided is a wand with a magnet tied onto a string. This is the paperclip detector. Using the magnet wand, students should attempt to find each paperclip hidden under the cardboard. One paperclip is left visible, as an example. This task is not easy, as the magnet’s response to a paperclip is rather subtle. Impatient students will tire of this task very quickly, while others may consider it an interesting challenge.

1. How does the magnet respond when it is near a hidden paperclip?
2. Once a paperclip is found, what signs tell you which way it is pointing?
3. What are some other common items that could be hidden and found in this way?