Do the same poles attract in a magnet? I thought the opposite poles attract and the same poles repel. You would need magnets with the poles labeled to know whether the poles that attract are the same or different.

Not worrying about which poles attract, I looked in Wikipedia to learn about the answer to your difficult question about why magnetic poles attract:

magnets

I think the most useful part is the Overview of the section, "Physics of magnetic behaviors". Magnetism comes from moving electrons. Do you know how to make an electromagnet?Some materials have electrons that move in ways that create magnetic fields, even when no electric current is flowing. You could spend the rest of your life learning all about magnetism, and you might become a famous scientist while you were doing that.

Here's a funny sentence I found in a link called "School for Champions":"What a magnetic field actually consists of is somewhat of a mystery,but we do know it is a special property of space."

Best wishes,