Magnacus

Children will be fascinated by the magic of the Magnacus. They’ll experience the puzzling, challenging, and “mysterious” motion of moving beads along a circuit without the beads physically touching.

Watch a video of the Magnacus beads in action

Earthscape created the word Magnacus by combining “magnet and “abacus.” A Magnacus has magnetic wood beads strung on a curved stainless steel rail. The beads track along the rail using magnetic forces. The Magnacus will invite social play where children can experiment with the beads and problem-solve together. They may also choose to tackle the challenge alone, to figure out how to move beads from one end to the other as the poles repel each other.

Play Value

The Magnacus encourages problem-solving and thinking skills in a fun and magical way. Children (or teens and adults!) of all ages can experience the wonder of watching the beads move seemingly by magic, allowing their imaginations to blossom.

The Magnacus invites children to work together, encouraging cooperation as the beads move from one end to the other. It also allows for lone discovery, as children have the opportunity to play with the magic of the beads to figure out their path.

Merits

The Magnacus is a great play feature where there is a desire to feature STEM experiences. It provides opportunities for cooperative and collaborative play, and highlights science, technology, engineering and math within play. How fast will the beads move? How close can they get? How many can be moved at once? Do they ever attract?

The science of magnetism is both interesting and perplexing at the same time - children are encouraged to think about how and why the magnetic beads move the way they do. They have opportunities to develop fine motor skills as well as thinking and reasoning skills. The non-linear path of the beads also adds to the intriguing nature of the Magnacus as they move along a curved rail.

Materials

The vertical post of the Magnacus is black locust. Logs have a minimum diameter of 6 inches and anti-crack bolts are added to the ends of each log. Each circular magnetic bead is 5 inches (130mm) in diameter and is made of Accoya. Magnets are embedded inside the wood bead.

Accessibility

The Magnacus is an accessible ground-level play feature when situated on an accessible path or surfacing.

COLOUR OPTIONS *no stain option

Caution: Mild magnetic field. Can be ordered without magnets.