Memory masters

Investigate how your memory works, and learn a cunning trick to help memorise lots of things.

a woman and a small boy are looking at a selection of toys on the table
Learning how to remember objects by telling a story about them, Image credit: The Royal Institution

Aims

Make up a story to help with memory.

ExpeRiment with the way you remember things.

Learn how creating links between ideas can help you recall things.

About this activity

Kat and her son Sam investigate the psychology of memory. By playing a memory game, trying to remember 10 random objects in different ways, they explore how our brains work. Do some techniques work better for memorising things than others? Sam comes up with his own ideas of how to remember the objects, and finally creates a silly story to help cement the list in his mind.

These sorts of games are a great way to get children thinking like psychologists, and considering how their brains work.