A magnet is a special piece of metal with a hidden force called «magnetic attraction». It pulls certain metals toward it, like iron and nickel, but it does not attract things like wood, plastic, or paper.
Every magnet has two ends called «poles»: a north pole and a south pole. When two matching poles come close, they push away from each other, or «repel». When two different poles come close, they pull toward each other, or «attract», and stick together.
Magnets are used in many things we see every day, like a refrigerator door that closes tightly, some toys, and even a compass, which has a magnetic needle that always points north to help us find directions.
