How do magnets attract or repel objects?

Magnets can pull things toward them or push them away, just like friends who sometimes hug and sometimes back off.

Imagine you have a special kind of sticker that can either grab onto another sticker or keep it from getting close. That’s what magnets are like, they have these special powers on their surfaces.

If you put two stickers with the same power together, they push each other away. It's like when two kids both want to be first in line and end up backing off a little. This is called repelling.

But if you put two stickers with different powers together, one grabs onto the other, just like when two friends give each other a big hug. This is called attracting.

Inside every magnet, there are tiny invisible helpers called magnetic particles. They all line up in special ways that make the sticker powers happen on the outside of the magnet.

So when you bring two magnets close, depending on how their little helpers are lined up, they either grab or push each other, and you feel it!