Science capabilities are a set of ideas for teachers to think with about science education. There are five: gathering and interpreting data, using evidence, critiquing evidence, interpreting representations of science, and engaging with science. This paper explores what student progress in developing capabilities might look like. It draws on student responses from a small research project with students from Years 1-10 in a range of New Zealand schools. The appendix includes a number of thinking objects developed from the student responses.