Magnets and Iron Filings

Griffin figured out that oxygen-absorbing packets, found in packages of food such as beef jerky to keep them fresh, contain iron filings. He cut several of them open and put the contents into a clear container with a lid. He showed his grandmother and cousins how you could attract the iron filings with a strong magnet on the outside of the container. This is a type of experiment that he has seen at several science museums, and is also the basis of the kids' toy where you use a magnet to make a mustache on a face. He recently tried salmon jerky from Trader Joe's, and he loved it. He says the salmon jerky had two oxygen-absorbing packets.