Perceptions of preschool childeren about the nature of science

The aim of this research is to determine the perceptions of preschool students about the nature of science through short stories. In this thesis, which has a qualitative research method, a case study design was used. The data of the research were obtained with the opinions of 5 female and 5 male preschool students who were educated in the kindergarten one of the public schools of Afyonkarahisar province in the 2022-2023 academic year. An interview form was prepared by the researcher in order to collect the data. The semi-structured interview form was prepared with the support of the literature, expert opinion was taken and it was finalized in line with the pilot application. Within the scope of the research, indivual interviews were made with preschool students and notes were taken by taking audio recordings of the interview. The obtained data were transferred to the computer environment and analyzed by content analysis. In line with the content analysis carried out, the expressions 'scientist', 'inventions', 'tablet/phone', 'in the laboratory', 'drugs', 'in your mind', 'thinking' and 'trying' were used in common for all stories. Similarly, it was noteworthy that there were questions in which the answers of "I don't know" were taken from the students. In the light of these findings, it was concluded that science activities should be given more place in pre-school education, and students' perceptions of the nature of science were formed but could be improved.