From her experience of teaching a profoundly deaf child learning science with British Sign Language (BSL) as the child's first language, Sally Spicer learned methods that could be good practice for all learners. In this article, Sally Spicer shares how providing an opportunity for first-hand experience to develop knowledge and understanding of scientific processes and concepts facilitates an active learning approach and encourages pupil engagement. It supports children of all abilities and differing needs, including children with specific sensory impairment and English as an additional language (EAL).