Using Theater and Drama to Expose and Expand the Epistemic Insights of Youth Regarding the Nature of Science Lydia E Carol-Ann Burke 1 & Anne Wessels 2 & Alison McAvella 3 # Springer Nature B.V. 2018 Abstract Students learn about science in a range of life contexts. Unfortunately, science classrooms are often disconnected from the ways of knowing about science that are embedded in, and embodied by, the life experiences of students. Drama has been identified as a potential means by which deeper understandings of the nature of science can be derived and nurtured but research on how this might be achieved is sparse. This study uses drama methodology to explore epistemologies of science with two groups of secondary school students from very different social contexts: one from a private university preparatory school and another from an after-school community group in a low-income neighborhood. We use a combination of traditional instruments and contemporary methodologies to elucidate students’ perspectives on the nature of science. Despite the similarity in perspectives revealed by the two groups when using the more traditional nature of science testing format, we have shown how drama activities can uncover very different ways in which the two cohorts mobilize their understand- ings about science. We propose ways in which these methodologies may be employed by teachers to explore and expand the epistemic insights that students bring to the science classroom. Keywords Nature of science . Drama . Epistemic insight . Secondary school science education . Science theater Research in Science Education https://doi.org/10.1007/s11165-018-9782-z * Lydia E Carol-Ann Burke carolann.burke@utoronto.ca 1 Department of Curriculum, Teaching and Learning, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto, 252 Bloor St W, Toronto, ON M5S 1V6, Canada 2 Tarragon Theatre, 30 Bridgman Ave., Toronto M5R 1X3 ON, Canada 3 Waterloo District School Board, Kitchener, ON, Canada