Laboratory activities have long had a distinctive and central role in the science curriculum, and science educators have suggested that many benefits accrue from engaging students in science laboratory activities. Many research studies have been conducted to investigate the educational effectiveness of laboratory work in science education in facilitating the attainment of the cognitive, affective, and practical goals. In Israel, on 2000, the chemical education committee, based on a needs assessment survey, recommended that the new syllabus include a whole unit of inquiry-based laboratory as part javascript:;of the learning sequence. The reform highlighted the laboratory unit as the central component in the new curriculum. In this paper we will describe the chemistry laboratory curriculum in Israel, its development, implementation and assessment strategies. (Contains 1 table and 2 figures.)