Like math and reading, active learning is the hallmark of science and social studies instruction. The curriculum is project based, so that students learn through doing-building, experimenting, researching, creating. The Edison schedule recommends 75-90 minutes for science and social studies daily, so that students have an extended period for meaningful investigations and other project work. The flexible nature of the Edison model also allows schools to choose to alternate science and social studies every other day.

In science, students develop understanding of scientific concepts and the process scientists use in investigating the physical, life, and earth sciences.

The social studies curriculum is literature based. Students engage in projects, such as creating a model of the community as it looked long ago when studying local history in fourth grade. They read outstanding children's trade books, from multicultural folklore to biographies of key historical players, as a springboard for projects.