Read about scientific concepts and theories at the beginning of each lesson.
REAL Science Odyssey Series
REAL Science Odyssey is a comprehensive secular homeschool science curriculum, written by experts, organized for you, and engaging for your child.
Grades K to 6
Each topic in RSO Level One is presented in an entertaining story-like format, followed by hands-on activities, background science information, parent instructions, labs, reading lists, journaling ideas, and websites.
Learn More Shop RSO Level 1 Try Before You Buy
NEW RELEASE! RSO Biology Level 1 for grades 2 to 5.
Grades 6 to 10
Level Two courses bring science alive by engaging young people’s minds while they are actively participating in learning. The student text is written to the student so that they can learn independently. Teacher Guides are available for Level Two courses and are highly recommended.
Learn More Shop RSO Level 2 Try Before You BuyThe REAL Science Odyssey Series
Transition your student to independent learning with minimal assistance from parent or teacher
Secular and Fact-BasedTeach science as a factual discipline with a healthy dose of critical thinking. Our secular science curricula provides evidence- and fact-based study, free of religiously biased material.
Flexible and OrganizedOur comprehensive courses offer clear, easy-to-follow lesson plans that can be used as written or easily adapted your family’s particular needs and interests. Each course in the RSO series was developed to work with all ages, either independently at home or for use within a group. (Licensing is required for group, co-op, or classroom use.)
Academic and Hands-onGive your child an academically rigorous science education with our secular courses written by real scientists. Tap into your child’s natural curiosity through engaging text and creative hands-on labs and activities, while encouraging critical thinking skills and independent study.
REAL Science Odyssey Level 1
Complete science curriculum for Grades K to 6
Packed full of serious science and loads of fun, RSO is an incremental program that gently builds on itself and incorporates mathematics, scientific method, and science terminology. Created with the novice in mind, you don’t need a background in science to teach RSO.
Each course in the Level One series provides a full-year, secular science curriculum in an entertaining, easy-to-follow format, with hands-on activities, labs, parent instructions, journaling ideas, and reading lists included in each week’s lesson—all written by science experts for elementary level students.
Level One courses include: Life Science, Biology, Earth & Environment, Astronomy, Chemistry, and Physics.
The REAL Science Odyssey Method
Read
Explore
Absorb
Learn
Life
Grades K–2REAL Science Odyssey Life is divided into three sections: the human body, the animal kingdom, and the plant kingdom. With age-appropriate math and hands-on activities woven into the course, students will explore key concepts, apply the scientific method, and reinforce their knowledge of the material covered in each lesson.From dissecting seeds, to comparing mollusks, to finding out how long it takes a message to get from your eyes to your brain and then to your hands, students will learn REAL life science in a way that is immersive and fun.
Biology
Grades 2–5REAL Science Odyssey Biology Level 1 is a year-long, secular homeschool biology curriculum. If you were to distill Biology 1 into one statement, it would be “similar but different.” All organisms share fundamental characteristics and processes. The unifying concepts found in Biology Level 1 are the cell theory, the theory of evolution, genetics, and the processes used to define and describe the concept of organism.Biology Level 1 explains early in the course about the characteristics non-viral organisms share. Later in the course, anatomy and physiology are taught through the lens of these characteristics. Connections are made, such as when students work on side-by-side models of a human nervous system and the nervous system of a tardigrade, and differences are explained.
Astronomy
Grades 1–4In REAL Science Odyssey Astronomy 1, major topics of study include scientific modeling, the solar system, space and space travel, physics of light, cosmology, and gravity. Starting with the basics, each lesson builds on the last, using engaging narrative text, discussion, and hands-on activities to encourage curiosity and critical thinking while taking students on a journey through the universe.Exploring the properties of waves using a simple rubber band instrument, building a model of the Voyager space probe using household materials, and spending time gazing at the stars and journaling what you see are just a few of the creative activities within the course.
Earth & Environment
Grades 1 –4In REAL Science Odyssey Earth & Environment 1, topics include scientific modeling, the Earth’s spheres, weather, climate, the environment, erosion, and plate tectonics. Through incremental lessons and engaging experiments, students learn key concepts in earth and environmental science and explore how living things, including humans, interact with and change the earth around them.Making a timeline that puts Earth’s age into perspective, modeling the formation of igneous rocks, and creating a water cycle in a bowl in order to observe evaporation, condensation, and precipitation are a few of the creative activities included in the course.
Chemistry
Grades 2–5In REAL Science Odyssey Chemistry 1, the topics covered include atoms, molecules, the periodic table, states of matter, acids and bases, and chemical reactions. Though usually reserved for high school chemistry, they’re presented here in a way that younger students can easily grasp. Through engaging reading assignments, creative activities, and age-appropriate labs, each lesson introduces key concepts, gives students the opportunity to apply the scientific method, and lays a solid foundation of chemistry knowledge that can be built on in the future.From using the senses of sight, smell, and touch to explore the physical properties of matter, to creating a pH test solution using red cabbage, to learning about buoyancy by floating an egg in saltwater, students experience the concepts of chemistry in a way that is both immersive and fun.
Physics
Grades 3–6REAL Science Odyssey Physics 1 presents complicated physics concepts in a way that young people can comprehend and immediately apply to everyday play and work. Topics covered include the study of matter, motion, friction, work, sound and wave, magnetism, electricity, and even a glimpse into the quantum world. Through short, engaging reading assignments, discussion, and hands-on experiments using household objects, students will be introduced to the scientific laws that govern the universe and explore physics in the everyday world around them.Building simple levers and describing how they work, using different sizes and shapes of balloons to learn about rocket science, and learning what happens when you drink through a straw are just a few of the creative science experiments found within the course.
REAL Science Odyssey Level 2
Complete science curriculum for grades 6 –10The RSO Level Two courses for middle and high school students bring science to life through engaging content, colorful images and diagrams, hands-on labs, research projects, and more.
Each lesson within the course books builds on the last and is designed to challenge students to conduct independent research, use critical thinking skills, and make connections between the concepts on the page and the real world. They are written at the student’s level to encourage independent learning, though Teacher Guides are available and highly recommended. Level Two courses include: Biology and Astronomy + The Stargazer’s Notebook.
Biology Level 2
Grades 6–10RSO Biology Level 2 starts with the basics and covers progressively more complex concepts as students move through the course. Topics include cells, genetics, anatomy, evolution, ecology, and biological classification, and are explored through reading assignments, discussion, independent research, and creative, hands-on labs. Science vocabulary, math—an important tool for all scientists—and unit assessments are also woven throughout the course.The complete year-long Biology Level 2 curriculum requires this textbook as well as the accompanying Biology Level 2 Workbook. The Biology Level 2 Teacher Guide is also highly recommended.
Biology Level 2 Workbook
Grades 6–10RSO Biology Level 2 Workbook starts with the basics and covers progressively more complex concepts as students move through the course. Topics include cells, genetics, anatomy, evolution, ecology, and biological classification, and are explored through reading assignments, discussion, independent research, and creative, hands-on labs. Science vocabulary, math—an important tool for all scientists—and unit assessments are also woven throughout the course.The complete year-long Biology Level 2 curriculum requires this textbook as well as the accompanying Biology Level 2 Workbook. The Biology Level 2 Teacher Guide is also highly recommended.
Biology Level 2 Teacher Guide
Grades 6–10The RSO Biology Level 2 Teacher Guide contains lesson plans, materials lists, scheduling suggestions, answer keys, and more for the Biology Level 2 course. Together with the RSO Biology Level 2 textbook and the RSO Biology Level 2 Workbook, it provides an easy-to-follow, full-year science curriculum for middle and high school students.We recommend the eBook version of the Teacher Guide as it contains helpful microscope slide answer keys and direct Internet links.
Astronomy Level 2
Grades 6–10RSO Astronomy Level 2 is a semester-long science curriculum for middle and high school students introducing the basics of astronomy and covering progressively more complex concepts as students move through the course. Topics include the Big Bang, stars and black holes, our solar system, physical laws and processes, and Earth’s geology and formation. Through reading assignments, discussion, independent research, and creative, hand’s on experiments, students will explore the cosmos, learn to apply the scientific method, and make real connections between the concepts on the page and the world around them.This course can generally be completed in 12 to 16 weeks, though some lab work, such as monitoring the sun and moon over an extended period of time, is continued after the completion of the main course. An Astronomy Level 2 Teacher Guide with suggested course schedules, sample reports, learning objectives, and test answers is available and recommended.
Additionally, to continue your study of astronomy for a full year, you can also purchase The Stargazer’s Notebook, which guides you in exploring the night sky with observation instructions, sky maps, labs, and more.
Astronomy Level 2 Teacher Guide
Grades 6–10RSO Astronomy Level 2 Teacher Guide contains easy-to-follow lesson plans, materials lists, scheduling suggestions, answer keys, and more for the Astronomy Level 2 course. Together with the RSO Astronomy Level 2 course book, it provides a comprehensive semester-long science curriculum for middle and high school students..
The Stargazer’s Notebook: A Yearlong Study of the Nightsky
Grades 5 and upThe Stargazer’s Notebook is part stargazing journal and part astronomy lab book, providing step-by-step instructions (for both Northern and Southern Hemispheres), night sky maps, labs, planning tools, and more. It can be used as an adjunct to the RSO Astronomy Level 2 course to create a comprehensive full-year science curriculum or as a stand-alone study of the night sky.Happy Students Learning Science
What Our Customers Are Saying
About Real Science OdysseyCindy
Homeschooling ParentThe smiles this curriculum produces are priceless! THANK YOU for creating such an amazing SECULAR curriculum!! –, homeschooling parent
Cindy
Homeschooling ParentWe are on week 2 of Biology 2 and my kiddo can not get enough!
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Homeschool BloggerRSO Chemistry 1 is a fantastic, rigorous, secular science curriculum! It uses a multi-sensory approach to teach key principles and stays well clear of classic text-book style teaching. My kids are thoroughly enjoying this level and we highly recommend it!
Kristy
Homeschooling ParentAfter a ton of science curricula research, I finally ordered RSO Life Science! I am not a science person but I want my kiddo to love science. This seems like it’ll work for us both!
Angela
Homeschooling ParentEvery single year of homeschooling so far, (4 years), we have chosen a Real Science Odyssey program from Pandia Press. The lessons are informative, engaging, and fun! We have done Chemistry, Astronomy, and Physics, now Biology 2!
Erin
Homeschooling ParentIt's incredible after homeschooling for 18 years to find a resource that creates exactly what we were looking for in merging constant experimentation with text. Thank you once more for putting it all together.
Angela
Homeschooling ParentToday in Biology 2, We talked about DNA and RNA and how fascinating it all is. Sooo fun! Thanks for a great curriculum Pandia Press!
Bythelinden
Homeschool BloggerI have tried various science resources over the years and have never found one I like as much as REAL Science Odyssey. Kudos!