This study aimed to understand and interpret how pre-service elementary teachers engaged with a theoretical framework on the purposes of science education while developing a collective activity in a science education course. Using a narrative inquiry approach, the study reconstructed and interpreted the development of this experience in the Elementary Education program at Farhangian University. Data were drawn from four sources: student teachers’ design conversations, a video recording of the final performance, written reflections produced after the experience, and the instructor’s recollections of the activity’s development. Analysis focused on the temporal development of the experience and on moments in which the student teachers worked with Wellington’s framework on the purposes of science education. The findings showed that, during the design of the theatrical activity, the student teachers turned theoretical orientations into defensible positions, examined Wellington’s framework in relation to the context of science education in Iran, and represented its concepts and relationships through theatrical elements. This process led them to reconsider their interpretations of the framework. The study suggests that opportunities to work with theoretical knowledge can create a space in teacher education for interpretation, representation, and discussion before direct application in classroom practice.