This paper scrutinizes the contribution of Romulo de Carvalho to the development of the Portuguese science curriculum, arguing that it was critically informed by his lifetime inclination to the humanities. It focuses on a particular historical event: the 1948 chemistry programme for the secondary school "Liceus". The paper briefly reviews the educational situation during Salazarism, and how Carvalho and others worked against Salazar's anti-liberal idealism. The concept of humanistic science education is also reviewed. The article provides a general overview of Carvalho's activities in poetry, the history of science, and in education, and argues that the work of this multifaceted man was geared towards the need for context and meaningfulness in ordinary human life. In 1948, a shift in chemistry teaching is identified, from one that is less meaningful to students' everyday lives to one that is more humanistic in nature. This shift, introduced by Carvalho, brought about radical measures such as the controversial suppression of chemical equations and concepts. The article also provides an account of Carvalho's rationale for such changes and concludes with a discussion of the significance of the reform for Carvalho and for Portuguese science education.