When I grow up…
I want to do experiments
If your child mixes potions in the bath and asks “what happens if…”, here's what that's made of.
Ages are guides, not deadlines — follow your child’s pace. How to help at home → · See it on the map →
What this is, really
A scientist asks “how does that work?” and then actually finds out — with tests, measurements and evidence. There are scientists of stars, insects, materials and medicine; what they share is the method.
The seeds are already on the map
26 real skills your child can already meet at primary school, grouped into 5 strands. Every one links to its full page.
Science
Asking and testing
A good question, then a fair test — same everything, except the one thing you're testing.
Looking properly
Scientists don't look harder, they look on purpose — and write it down.
What is everything made of?
Kitchen chemistry: melting, dissolving, mixing, and the changes you can't undo.
Following the evidence
The hardest science skill: changing your mind when the evidence says so.
Sparks and circuits
Electricity is the first physics most kids fall for.
What it looks like at each age
“What happens if I…” is the scientific method, unsupervised. Add supervision, not discouragement.
They can run a real test: which paper plane flies furthest? Curiosity first — rigour comes later.
Fair testing clicks: change one thing, keep the rest the same. Kitchen science gets serious.
They design experiments themselves, measure properly, and can tell you why one result doesn't prove much.
Try this together
Free, low-key, and doable tonight — no special supplies.
Kitchen lab: what dissolves — salt, sand, flour, sugar? Guess first. Guessing first is the science.
Run a paper-plane tournament: one design change per flight, measure every distance, crown the evidence.
Grow two identical plants, treat them differently, and let the plants settle the argument.
When they ask a “why” you can't answer, say “let's find out properly” — and model looking it up.
After primary school
Science and maths all the way through high school, then university for most paths. But “scientist” is a thousand different jobs — reef surveys to space labs — and the fair test your child runs tonight is the same shape as the ones in journals.
The quiet truth
About 65% of what a scientist needs at primary school also lives inside other dreams on this site — reading well, a feel for numbers, noticing patterns, and sticking with hard things. Dreams change: that is the point of being seven. Nothing your child learns here is wasted.
This page is a map, not a plan. It shows what a dream is made of at primary school — it does not say your child will or won't do this one day, and it measures nothing about them. Explore it together, follow what they love, and let the dream change as often as they like. Learning Map original · CC BY-SA 4.0