This paper sets out to identify some key problems, issues and challenges relating to out-of-school experiences of learners in science teaching that emerged during classroom observations in schools in Botswana. Generally, there is evidence suggesting weak incorporation of learners' experiences into teaching. The experiences seemed to have a lower teaching priority than did formal universally accepted canonical science concepts. The study revealed that the relative merits of the science curriculum also appeared undermined by lack of teacher preparedness to handle the learners' out-of-school experiences. This paper also considers some of the implications of the research findings to science education in Botswana.