How can pre-school teachers form science teaching in a landscape of increasing focus on academically oriented learning outcomes, without losing the unique character of pre-school pedagogies? Seeking to contribute to the discussion of what pre-school science can be, we have analysed data from activities in fourteen Swedish pre-schools (for children aged 1-5 years), to examine if and how multi-dimensional teaching may be combined with teaching for scientific literacy. The overall picture is that elements of ‘emergent scientific literacy' can be combined with a wide range of teaching dimensions, such as empathy, fantasy and storytelling. These results contribute important perspectives to what pre-school science can be and how it can be researched in a way that is suitable for the preschool’s conditions. We suggest our analytical questions, and the dimensions displayed in our results, as a tool for teachers who plan or evaluate science teaching in the early years.