Towards the end of 1985 Project Officers in LISP (Energy) conducted interviews with primary teachers (15), intermediate teachers (5), primary science advisers teachers' college science lecturers (3) and Department of Education officers (5). Those interviewed had replied to a letter inviting participation in the Project or were approached personally by the interviewers (i.e. the Project Officer and Jane McChesney, a temporary project officer with LISP (Energy)). The interviews explored opinions on the place of energy in the N.Z. science curriculum, on the difficulty of teaching and learning about energy, and sought an outline of the concept of energy held by the person interviewed. Some interviews also discussed the ideas developed by LISP (Energy) (Carr, 1986).