Following a learning experience with one of her Year 2 students, whose extreme and challenging behavior required extra support from a teaching assistant (TA) but who loved practical hands-on science days and investigations, it occurred to the author that there must be hundreds of children and TAs all over the UK facing challenging dilemmas every day and so the concept of 'Science In My Pocket' (SIMP) was born. The SIMP resource successfully showed that it generates independent thinking and gives the children a sense of purpose. TAs felt guided and supported by the materials, and the children were encouraged to take responsibility for making decisions about what to do next.