In this study the environmental attitudes, knowledge, and alternative conceptions of 281 primary school children from 5th and 6th grade, ages 10-12 years were explored. Low knowledge scores, indicate a substantial lack of knowledge on basic environmental issues, while attitude scores were relatively high. Children's environmental attitudes and knowledge were significantly (p <0.05) related to parent's occupation and academic background, as well as to several out-of-school sources of information. A significant correlation was identified between children's knowledge and attitudes (p <0.01). Several alternative conceptions were revealed suggesting that future research should give more emphasis on exploring children's preinstructional ideas. The necessity of using modern and more socially relevant theories of learning is discussed.