What New York’s NYS PKS says about science and inquiry
New York’s early learning framework, the New York State Prekindergarten Learning Standards: A Resource for School Success, is the official standards document used by licensed childcare and development programs across the state. Administered by the New York State Education Department, the NYS PKS defines what healthy development looks like for children from birth through kindergarten entry — and science and inquiry is a core domain of that framework.
The NYS PKS addresses science and inquiry through a set of standards and indicators that capture children’s developmental progress from infancy through kindergarten entry. These indicators are organized to help educators observe, document, and support children’s growth in science and inquiry through intentional, play-based curriculum experiences.
New York requires licensed childcare programs to use a curriculum aligned to the NYS PKS and to document children’s developmental progress across all domains. This documentation informs individualized curriculum planning and is evaluated as part of the New York’s QUALITYstarsNY program.
Children are natural scientists from birth — dropping objects to study gravity, splashing to observe cause and effect, mixing colors to see what happens. Research from the National Science Foundation confirms that the inquiry dispositions formed in early childhood — curiosity, persistence, systematic observation — predict science achievement and STEM interest through high school and beyond.
Developmental milestones
Science milestones by age group
Understanding where children are developmentally helps educators plan meaningful activities and document progress accurately. These milestones align with New York’s NYS PKS indicators and nationally recognized frameworks including NAEYC’s Developmentally Appropriate Practice and the CDC’s Milestone Moments.
| Age group | Key NYS PKS milestones | What educators can do |
|---|---|---|
| Infants Birth–18 months | Repeating actions to observe effects (cause and effect); exploring objects through senses; attending to changes in the environment; early object permanence | Provide varied materials to explore; narrate cause-and-effect observations aloud; set up simple cause-and-effect play; respond to infant investigations with curiosity |
| Toddlers 18–36 months | Deliberately experimenting with cause-and-effect; beginning to verbalize predictions; sorting and classifying by observable properties; noticing and commenting on natural phenomena | Provide sensory exploration stations; support outdoor nature walks with observation language; introduce simple experiments; maintain a ‘wondering’ culture |
| Preschool 3–5 years | Forming testable questions; making and checking predictions; conducting simple experiments; drawing conclusions from observations; using tools (magnifying glasses, scales); recording findings through drawing | Science investigation center with rotating inquiry provocations; documentation walls; outdoor science explorations; STEM challenges; nonfiction science read-alouds |
Curriculum alignment
How Experience Curriculum supports New York’s NYS PKS Science standards
Experience Curriculum builds science and inquiry into every monthly theme through intentional, play-based activities aligned to the NYS PKS. Rather than treating science and inquiry as a separate subject, the curriculum embeds relevant skills into daily activities across every age band — so children are developing across all NYS PKS indicators throughout the day.
Every Experience Curriculum kit ships with a verified alignment to state early learning standards. The downloadable Experience Curriculum Alignment PDF maps each curriculum activity and skill to the specific standard indicator and developmental level it targets — saving teachers significant documentation time.
Science skills covered
- Observation and sensory exploration
- Cause-and-effect reasoning
- Prediction and hypothesis formation
- Scientific inquiry and investigation
- Classification and sorting by properties
- Nature and life science exploration
How it’s delivered
- Monthly kits with science exploration materials included
- Inquiry provocation cards with guided observation questions
- Nature exploration activities and outdoor science experiences
- Simple experiment guides with hypothesis-result documentation
- Brightwheel digital documentation tied to state science indicators
- Family science take-homes for at-home inquiry
Experience Curriculum’s approach to science and inquiry is grounded in peer-reviewed early childhood research and aligns to NAEYC’s Developmentally Appropriate Practice guidelines and the Head Start Early Learning Outcomes Framework. An independent psychometric evaluation found the linked Experience Assessment exceeds standards for validity and reliability across all eight developmental domains.
Skills spotlight
Key science and inquiry skills in the Experience Curriculum framework
Experience Curriculum’s 35-skill framework maps directly to state standard domains. Here are four skills that feature prominently in every age-band kit and align directly to New York’s NYS PKS indicators.
Curiosity
Intrinsic drive to explore, ask questions, and investigate. Nurtured through open-ended exploration time, wonder-inducing materials, and adults who model genuine curiosity about the world.
Observation
Using senses deliberately and systematically to gather information. Developed through guided sensory explorations, nature walks, and science investigation centers with tools like magnifying glasses.
Cause & Effect
Understanding that actions have predictable consequences. Built through cause-and-effect experiments, sensory play, and the deliberate use of “what do you think will happen?” prompts.
Classification
Organizing objects by observable properties. Practiced through sorting activities, nature collections, and attribute games embedded in each monthly theme.
Implementation guidance
Practical tips for embedding science and inquiry into your New York program
1. Create a permanent science investigation center
A well-stocked science center — with rotating collections of natural objects, simple tools, and open-ended materials — gives children daily opportunities to practice observation and inquiry on their own terms. Science standards assess self-directed inquiry, which is most authentically documented in free exploration contexts.
2. Use outdoor time as science time
The outdoor environment is the richest science lab available to early childhood programs. Programs that use outdoor time intentionally — with nature journaling, bug observation, water and sand exploration, and weather monitoring — generate more authentic science documentation.
3. Make the inquiry process visible
Post children’s questions, predictions, and findings on a documentation wall. When children see their scientific thinking honored and displayed, they engage more deeply with inquiry. This documentation also makes standard evidence-gathering natural.
4. Ask “What do you notice? What do you wonder?” daily
These two questions — central to science inquiry — can be used in virtually any context: examining a caterpillar, observing rain, mixing paint colors. Regular use builds the inquiry dispositions science standards assess and creates a classroom culture of scientific curiosity.
Frequently asked questions
Common questions about New York’s NYS PKS and science and inquiry curriculum
Related resources
New York Mathematics & Reasoning standards
New York’s NYS PKS Mathematics and reasoning domain alignment
New York Approaches to Learning standards
New York’s NYS PKS Approaches to learning domain alignment
New York early learning standards
Overview of New York’s NYS PKS framework and all 8 domain alignments
New York NYS PKS resource guide
Official NYS PKS resources from the New York State Education Department
Experience Curriculum overview
Research-based, state-aligned curriculum delivered to your door every month