This paper is concerned with two questions derived from Piaget and Inhelder's (1973) work on the relationship between memory and the developing intelligence of the child. First, can children retain operatively advanced information through the use of a non-operative mnemonic? Secondly, can the salience of operative versus non-operative information be manipulated through story context? To test the first question, grade one children were provided with a picture representing the concept of horizontality as embodied in the water level of a container. Within the context of a story, children were told it was important to remember the particular horizontal orientation of the water level. Two types of memory aids were provided. Half of the children were given a brief description and demonstration of how the water level of a container remains parallel to the supporting surface (an operative explanation). The remaining childre were given a simple mnemonic strategy: it was pointed out that the belt of a woman (depicted in the picture) and the water level were perfectly aligned (the figurative solution). A second question investigated whether memory for figurative information could be improved with the provision of contextual background. A figurative and an operative context were provided for the operative concept of seriation as depicted by a clothesline of clothes. Memory for the seriation frame was tested by asking the child to recall the colour of the clothes and to reconstruct their arrangement using small cutouts. The results confirmed the hypothesized effects (Author/SS)