Electricity or magnet experiment - HELP!!

[Traveller]

My eldest son aged 7 has to do a science project for school involving magnets or electricity by next Friday. It is to be with minimal assistance from parents (except he has broken his right arm so realistically I will end up doing it all). We were going to magnetise a screw using a coil of wire and a battery but we can't get it to work so now I am completely stuck. We have tried using static electricity to light a lightbulb or create sparks (with a balloon) but we can't get it to work. I only have tiny magnets at home and have no clue where I can get bigger ones from. And to top it off I am on placement for the next week and will have no time to shop around for supplies or think of ideas.

Please please please does anyone have a clue for something interesting that he can demonstrate one handed at school and the supplies for which are cheap and readily available at somewhere which is easily accessible like k-mart or a supermarket? I have already given away the naming rights for my next child to MadB but if someone can solve this you can have the naming rights for the child after that.

disclaimer, my husband has had a vasectomy and I am not having any more children ever

[Astrid]

You need an iron screw, steel (not stainless) can do it, but iron is better. A lot of the screws these days have a coating on them or are some kind of alloy. So try other bits of metal you have around the house.

[Traveller]

what type of wire would work best? I literally only have plastic coated wire from old headphones but would be happy to get the right type of wire if I knew what type to get

[Phteven]

Does static electricity count?
You could do the does different coloured hair produce more static electricity experiment.

You need balloons, a blonde, a brunette, a red head and any other shades you can find.

Rub the hair with the balloon - see how many pieces of paper it will pick up. Record the results.

If you can ground the balloon and the paper and the people with the hair first even better.

Science Fair Projects - Hair color and static - this link uses wigs but you can use real people.

[Astrid]

Copper for the wire. (BTW, just relaying what DH is telling me)

[Traveller]

static electricity would be fine, but the hair and balloon experiment the class already did as a whole so I think it would be too similar to do the hair colour one

Astrid, can you ask your OH where I would get copper wire from please?

[Astrid]

Old electrical cable. The wire needs some thickness to it.

[Little Chicken]

Found this on the net

Make Your Own Lemon Battery

How to make a battery with a lemon, a zinc coated nail and a piece of copper.

[Traveller]

oh Little Chicken that one could work, I would need an LED bulb but I guess I could get one from k-mart. It's a definitely maybe.

[nothing2lose]

I thought your next born is going to be called Jovi?

Perhaps there is a vasectomy reversal experiment using magnets and fishing wire or something??

[Traveller]

You'd have to ask MadB what my nextborn is to be called, I sold the rights in return for seasons 1-6 of Buffy.

[~Kim~]

What about a simple compass? They use a magnet.

[Traveller]

how would I make a compass Kim?

[Traveller]

Thank you everyone who gave me suggestions. I have flunked out and cheated, I bought a "magnet science experiments for kids" kit from the shops so he can do one of those. At least he will have done his homework even if it is not as home made as we would have liked.