Meteorite Beach Try this experiment about meteorites and then tell us what you discover!   What You Need: A beach Magnet A ziplock bag A magnifying glass (optional) Tip: Shooting stars are known as meteoroids when they are in the sky. They're called meteorites when they hit Earth. Question: How can you collect meteorites at the beach? 1. First, put the magnet inside the ziplock bag. 2. Then, drag the bag along the beach. 3. Tiny metallic particles will collect on the outside of the bag. 4. Now, turn the bag inside out. Congratulations! You've just collected meteorites that have landed here from outer space! 5. If you have a magnifying glass, examine your space dust. What do you see? A Scientific Explanation Because meteorites are made mostly of iron, they can be collected with a magnet. While not all the metal at the beach comes from meteorites, scientists say that 20 percent of the metal on Earth has come from outer space. EXTRA! EXTRA! You can check that the particles you collected are meteorites by looking closely at them with a magnifying glass. A meteorite will be the shape of a round sphere. Meteorites become perfectly round when they fall through Earth's atmosphere. There was a whole lot of metal and I saw that a few peices were round. It was so awsome! - Alyssa R. I just learned a magnet sticks to metal in any kind of way and not just metal like the refrigerator. - Dontisha B. We found a little bug in the sand! -Taiya A. We found tiny sand-like substances, a little silvery and gold. - Ivan T. It is so cool how you can collect stuff from the sand. - Julia L. It was very interesting, but I didn't find any meteorites. What a pity! - Alex Y. I found out that a lot of things do stick to the bag and if you put three magnets in there you double the stuff. The project was fun! - Taylor B.