Rethinking

Narrative Leveraging storytelling

for science learning

Alison Engel, Kathryn Lucido, and Kyla Cook

Field Museum

4 Childhood Education: Innovations

 We can support students’ deep engagement with
content through innovative delivery. The techniques
developed at the Field Museum in Chicago to share
science knowledge through storytelling can provide
inspiration for both formal and informal educators.

Anyone who spends time with a young
child will likely relate to being asked to read
the same story dozens of times, with each
repetition met with the same rapt attention,
wonderment, and delight as if the story were
being shared for the first time. The immersive
power of a good story to capture a child’s heart
and mind has long been used as an effective
tool to support learning in the domains of
language arts and social studies, but it is
not always a strategy that comes to mind
as quickly in the realm of science learning.
However, the intrinsic nature of learning
through narrative actually makes it an ideal
approach for developing science understanding
in early learners. In this article, we share our
framework for creating compelling science
narratives.
Using Narrative to Support Science
Learning
A compelling narrative capitalizes on the way
children’s brains naturally develop to process
ideas, and it provides rich context to make
otherwise seemingly abstract ideas relevant in a
personally meaningful way.
Therefore, in the context of science learning,
presenting new information in the form of
stories about scientists and scientific discoveries
further supports a natural way of information
processing for many learners.
In fact, a capacity model of children’s
comprehension developed by Shalom
Fisch indicates that the more integral new
content is to the plotline of the narrative,
the less cognitive resources are required
for comprehension. This, in turn, leads to
enhanced learning.2
A narrative approach to science learning
provides benefits beyond the acquisition
of new knowledge. Stories about science
and scientists can have important positive
affective impacts that inspire future subject-
specific learning. While more traditional
communication of scientific ideas may be
boiled down to a handful of facts or a timeline
of discoveries, a narrative approach allows
for the true excitement of curiosity to shine
through, fueling children’s own curiosity and
interest in the process.

Children develop two modes of thinking to
make sense of the world. One is the socio-
logico mode, which processes information
by abstracting it from context. The other
is the narrative mode, which is context-
dependent and relies on situation-based
evidence. Research widely recognizes that
“the narrative mode of thinking represents
the default mode of human thought,
providing structure to reality and serving as
the underlying foundation for memory.”1
Often, stories about science include
information about scientists. A depiction of
science through narrative can help children
“see the scientists portrayed in the story as
real human beings (and not as super humans
with exceptional intellectual powers), and thus
help them to identify with those scientists.”3
This powerful benefit of a narrative approach
promotes inclusivity in science, potentially
inspiring children’s pursuit of future science
learning.

Download resources and educator guides to For more information:

bring more fun to science learning. Visit the Small Fry Science YouTube page
www.fieldmuseum.org/educators/resources www.fieldmuseum.org/blog/small-fry-science

November/December 2018 5
 Contexts for Science Narrative
In the Learning Center of the Field Museum
in Chicago, Illinois, USA, we interact with
learners through varying experiences, which
change depending on the program being
provided. These experiences range in duration,
location, and style. For example, a self-guided
video interaction that is just a few minutes
in length and can be accessed from anywhere
via the internet. In contrast, an interaction
in the Grainger Science Hub at the museum
facilitated by one of our educators can last
up to 30 minutes. Or, a teacher may use
Narrative Conventional Understanding
Component
Topic Theme of the story, such as:
• The importance of family
• Overcoming adversity
• Sacrifices bring reward
• Human struggles against
nature
Audience Varied (all ages)
Purpose • To entertain
• To persuade
• To inform
• To express
• Etc.
Narrator Point of view of the story
Characters People and anthropomor-
phized animals or objects
Table 1. Journey of Discovery
6 Childhood Education: Innovations
our learning resources or attend professional
development to create a full-length lesson
or unit for their classroom. Despite these
variances in type of engagement and time
spent, we find that science storytelling remains
a highly effective learning tool across all of
these situations.
As museum educators, we work with adults
as well as children. When designing our
learning experiences, we consider parent-child
facilitations and teacher-led experiences, and
we also facilitate experiences ourselves. Within
Our Approach to Scientific Storytelling
*Driven by the Field Museum’s mission
• A scientist’s process
• Scientific concepts
• How a natural history collection is
used for research
Varied (all ages)
• Sparking curiosity, promoting lifelong
learning
• Building understanding of scientific
concepts
• Building understanding of scientific
processes
• Building the ability to do scientific
processes
• Scientist
• Educator
• Object (non-anthropomorphized)
• Etc.
• Scientists
• Objects (non-anthropomorphized)
• Data
• Students
• Etc.
each of these contexts, adults are a critical
part of the interaction and are intentionally
considered as part of the learning encounter.
While our interactions are unique, we can all
utilize the same storyblock structure discussed
in the next section to create science stories for
our learners. While the order may change, the
core blocks remain.
Building a Science Story
Through our work with varied audiences,
we have found that the essence of science
storytelling lies in a few key narrative
components: topic, audience, purpose,
narrator, and characters. While these
components may be common with regard to
literature, it takes a bit of creative thinking to
reframe them within the context of science
content. At the Field Museum, our approach
to science storytelling is driven by our
mission to fuel a journey of discovery that has
informed our specific approach, demonstrated
in Table 1.
When developing a topic for a science
narrative, it is important to consider the
audience served and any prior knowledge or
misconceptions they may bring with them.
Each audience and learning setting brings
about unique learning goals.
With the foundation set for the science
narrative, the next step is to consider how
to best structure the information to make it
engaging and understandable. In a science
story, the narrator is the lens through which
learners are seeing the story. This could mean
that a scientist is the narrator, telling us about
their research and their experiences leading
up to their discovery. On the other hand, the
story could be told from the perspective of an
object (i.e., a fossil, animal, or plant) that has
provided scientists with new insights. While
these items may serve as “characters,” it is
important to not anthropomorphize them.
It is integral to maintain scientific accuracy
and to present information in a factual
manner. Science storytelling applies a
narrative framework to nonfiction material
and presents information in a familiar,
engaging format.
With the key components of the science
narrative in place, the learning experience
is developed using a series of three building
blocks: entry point or hook, inquiry, and
resolution as illustrated in Table 2. These
building blocks can be arranged in different
sequences and combinations, depending
on the audience and format of the learning
experience, but each engagement follows a
similar structure. A well-rounded science
narrative is created by incorporating blocks
from each category. Entry points or hooks
engage the learner using varied modes of
learning. These hooks may take the form of a
puzzling question, a problem, or a compelling
object designed to spark curiosity and drive
the learning experience. Next, learners engage
in guided inquiry: make observations, explore
objects/specimens, investigate, and ask
questions. These experiences are supported
by the teacher or facilitator through open-
ended questions and information. Finally,
each experience ends in a resolution. This may
take the form of a solution to a problem, or it
may be a call to action to promote learners to
continue exploring this topic or make a change
in their local community.
Entry Point • Compelling objects/
assets
• Problem
• Puzzling question
• Choice
Engagement • Ask questions
• Explore
• Investigate
• Make observations
Resolution • Solution
• Answer
• Call to action
Table 2.
Science Narrative Building Blocks
November/December 2018 7
 Example 1: School Learning
One way that we leverage narrative to develop
young children’s understanding of science
is through curricular resources developed to
be used by teachers in the classroom. This
approach bridges learning “about” science
with learning to “do” science, as students are
cast in the role of the primary investigators
working to solve a real-world problem or
explain a phenomenon by using science to
understand it. To achieve this, every curricular
resource (such as a unit of study) utilizes a
curious or problematic scientific phenomenon
as the entry point to build student investment
in explaining the phenomenon or finding a
solution to the problem.
Students then engage in multiple
investigations, each designed to allow them
to explore one facet of the larger problem or
phenomenon to collect evidence that, when
all put together, will allow them to craft their
conclusions. While the teacher serves as the
primary narrator, unfolding the story with
new and pertinent data sources within each
investigation, students control the pathway
they take through the narrative by determining
the order in which they want to pursue each
investigation-level theme or driving question.
In the 2nd-grade science unit example (Figure 1
and Table 3), students investigate the problem
of a decreasing monarch butterfly population.
Through multiple investigations, students
follow the path of a narrative arc in which
they collect and analyze data to understand
the causes contributing to this problem and
ultimately develop a local solution.

Can be completed in any order based on student interest

ENGAGEMENT

Explore: What do monarch butterflies RESOLUTION

need to survive?
Solution: Develop a
Read nonfiction books to determine proposal and action
ENTRY POINT
monarch needs. plan for changes
Problem: Monarch that can be made
butterflies are to the schoolyard
important ENGAGEMENT that will make it
pollinators. more hospitable for
Investigate: What changes have monarchs.
However, their
occurred in our region that may be
population has
prompting this population decrease?
been decreasing
over time.
Examine past and present maps to
compare the amount of natural habitat RESOLUTION
Why is this
to developed land over time.
happening and
Call to Action:
what can we do
Implement the
about it? ENGAGEMENT
changes outlined
Make Observations: How well can in the proposal
monarchs live in our schoolyard? and action plan
to improve the
Conduct an inventory of schoolyard schoolyard for
elements that may aid or deter monarchs.
monarchs.

Figure 1. School Learning Science Narrative Structure

8 Childhood Education: Innovations

 Topic Monarch butterfly population
decreases as a result of
habitat loss from urban
development.
Audience Children in school
Purpose Build understanding of
scientific concepts.
Build ability to do scientific
processes.
Narrator Educator (classroom teacher)
Characters Monarch butterflies
that migrate through
Chicagoland.
Students investigating causes
and solutions to this problem.
Due to the streamlined structure of a narrative
video, a limited arrangement of scientific
narrative blocks is possible. However, this
does not indicate a lack of intentionality in
the choice that is made. Two entry points for
inquiry are found in the video. The initial
question is asked directly by a child in the
museum community; however, an extension
question has been placed in the middle of the
video to encourage children to dig deeper and
continue asking questions once they have have
learned the initial answer. This is similar to
the “chunk” and “chew” of the “chunk-chew-
check” approach to teaching, giving the learner
a chance to digest what they have learned
before learning something new. 5

Table 3. Monarch Investigation Example 3: Public Learning

Example 2: Digital Learning
Our animated series Small Fry Science is an
educational series for early learners and their
families available on our Youtube channel.
Children from the Field Museum community
ask questions about science and the world
around them. Our scientists narrate their
answers and the video is animated around this
narration. The specific example addressed in
Table 4 and Figure 2 answers the question
“How do plants push down their roots?”4
This suite of educational programming was
developed for the general public, addressing
all ages, interest levels, and a wide spectrum
of prior knowledge. Interactions are led by a
staff educator in a casual learning space—the
Grainger Science Hub—extending off the
Field Museum’s main hall, which is open to
all museum visitors. Program topics in the
Science Hub change every three months to
share current research from our museum
scientists with the general public. These
programs are designed to engage learners for
anywhere from 2 to 20 minutes, depending
on the interest level of the visitor. As a result,

Screenshot from
an episode of
Small Fry Science
on YouTube.
(from Digital
Learning)

November/December 2018 9
 this programming is a set of activities and
conversations designed to have multiple
entry points to appeal to a wide audience, as
illustrated in Table 5 and Figure 3. While this
programming is used in a museum setting, it
could easily be applied to a formal education
environment through thematic learning
stations.
By interacting with Science Hub educators,
learners will discover that Field Museum
scientists have been involved in the recovery
and continued monitoring of local peregrine
falcons, the fastest animal in the world. In
order to address varied interest, three major
entry points have been provided. Each entry
point leverages a different mode of learning.

Topic Seed Plants

Audience Early learners and their
families, guardians,
teachers, etc.
Purpose Build understanding of
scientific concepts.
Foster continued
curiousity.
Narrator Scientist
Character(s) Child
Scientist

Table 4. How Do Plants Push Down Screenshot from an episode of Small Fry
Their Roots? Science on YouTube.
(from Digital Learning)

ENTRY POINT RESOLUTION ENGAGEMENT

Question: Answer: Investigate:
How do plants Plants grow from Child sums up
push down their seeds, which contain what has just been
roots? roots, which hold explained.
plants in the soil.

RESOLUTION RESOLUTION ENTRY POINT

Call to Action: Extension Answer: Extension Question:
Keep being curious! Plants are made up of teeny, tiny cells (or blocks) But how are plants
Submit your that look like toy blocks. These blocks are strong strong enough to
questions to the and help the stems keep pushing up to the sky push through dirt?
Small Fry Squad! and the roots keep pushing into the ground.

Figure 2. Digital Learning Science Narrative Structure

10 Childhood Education: Innovations

Topic Current and past peregrine
falcon research in Chicago.
Audience Children out of school
Adults (i.e., parents/
guardians, teachers,
general public)
Purpose Spark curiosity.
Build understanding of
scientific concepts.
Build ability to do scientific
processes.
Narrator Educator (museum staff)
Scientist
Object
Educator Marcy Krause explores a real
Character(s) Bird scientists from the Field peregrine falcon specimen with visitors in the
Museum Grainger Science Hub.
Wild peregrine falcons in (from Public Learning)
Chicago

Table 5. Peregrine Falcon Study

ENTRY POINT ENGAGEMENT RESOLUTION

Compelling Objects: Make Observations: Call to Action:
Peregring falcon study What niche does a Watch peregrine
skin and skull, pigeon peregrine falcon fill? falcon nest webcams
study skin from home, citizen
science

ENGAGEMENT
ENTRY POINT
Explore: RESOLUTION
Compelling Video: How do scientists Solution:
Banding peregrine study a wild raptor? Recovery efforts for
chicks in downtown
peregrine falcon
Chicago (point of
populations and
view of scientist)
continued monitoring
ENGAGEMENT
Investigate:
ENTRY POINT
How did peregrine
Question: falcons become
How do we know endangered?
the life stories of wild
peregrine falcons?

Figure 3. Public Learning Science Narrative Structure

November/December 2018 11
 Field Museum visitors engage with exhibits and a staff educator in the Grainger Science Hub.
Compelling objects invite kinesthetic and
visual learners to investigate and explore
real scientific specimens. The point-of-view
video engages visual and auditory learners to
experience the perspective of a scientist on the
edge of a skyscraper studying wild peregrine
falcons. Finally, providing an open-ended
question appeals to logical learners, as well
as verbal learners, who want to engage in a
discovery-based conversation. Each interaction
progresses differently, allowing the learner to
guide the program through their observations,
questions, and curiosity. Every experience ends
with either a resolution of the problem or a
call to action for learners to continue their
discovery after they leave the museum.
Last Thoughts
Storytelling has long been a way to capture the
hearts and minds of children and adults alike.
This method is also an incredibly effective tool
to support learning. While English and the
social sciences have long utilized storytelling
as a tool for learning, the sciences have just
begun to discover how successful storytelling
12 Childhood Education: Innovations
can be for learning new concepts. Our
framework gives a structure for implementing
storytelling in science learning as well as real-
world examples of how we have used this
structure successfully across various educational
programs. By employing the narrative structure
above to a range of experiences, it is possible
to apply storytelling in a multitude of science
learning situations.
Notes:
1
Using narratives and storytelling to
communicate science with nonexpert audiences.
http://www.pnas.org/content/111/
Supplement_4/13614
2
Fisch, S. M. (2000). A capacity model of
children’s comprehension of educational
content on television. Media Psychology, 2(1),
63-91.
3
Hadzigeorgiou, Y. The nature of science
through storytelling. 5 SFU Ed Review 2017
4
https://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=6PFmU7IcrX0
5
http://explorecuriocity.org/Explore/
ArticleId/4459/chunk-chew-check.aspx