This article describes a project designed to extend sixth-form pupils looking to further their knowledge and skill base in physics. This project involves a quantitative analysis of the decaying amplitude of a metal plate oscillating in a strong magnetic field; the decay of the amplitude is used to make estimates of the strength of the magnetic field. It brings together many of the skills disposable to a physicist; the physical understanding of the nature of the forces involved in a damped simple harmonic oscillator, the ability to construct mathematical models to describe these forces, the mathematical ability to find solutions to these equations, the experimental skill in gathering data to support the analysis, and the analytical skills to calculate constants from the experimental data. (Contains 6 figures.)