University teachers organized a chemistry training course designed for teachers of children aged 6 to 11 (primary school in France). The aim of the course was to motivate the teachers and train them to conduct chemistry experiments in the classroom. A formative evaluation was designed to find out whether the teachers had acquired the necessary experimental knowhow. Detailled observation grids were elaborated. The results show that trainees made significant progress in acquiring experimental know-how. The results lead to organizing actions into a hierarchy and relating them to the required values of scientific work.