When it is actually worth it
Not for everything. Some material is where a palace pays off most.
- Long lists in order — Planets, stages, rulers, the points of a plan — anything where the next question is "and then what".
- A talk or a retelling — The child walks the route and never loses the thread. More reliable than a sheet of notes.
- Material for a test — Twenty facts placed around the rooms come back whole rather than in fragments.
Six steps
The first palace takes an evening. Every one after that takes ten minutes.
- Pick a place the child knows by heart
Your own flat, the walk to school, a grandparent's room. An invented place does not work: you would have to memorise the place itself first.
- Build a route of ten stops
Door, wardrobe, lamp, table, window… A fixed order, always the same, following how you move rather than jumping about.
- Walk the route empty
Two or three times aloud, with no material. The stops should surface on their own, otherwise there is nothing to hang the images on.
- Put one image at each stop
One, large, moving and slightly absurd. A small, still image will not hold.
- Walk the route and collect it all aloud
From the first stop to the tenth. Wherever you get stuck, that image is weak — redraw it bolder.
- Repeat after 10 minutes, in the evening and after three days
Three short walks. After that the route holds for weeks.
One palace, one set of material. To reuse it, first walk it and clear the old images out, or they will blend with the new ones.
Four beginner mistakes
They are why the technique "does not work" on the first try.
Too many stops at once
Start with ten. Thirty stops in a first palace is the most common reason people give up.
Stops that look alike
Three identical chairs will merge. Choose stops that differ in look and size.
Small, static images
The image should move and exaggerate: not an apple on the table, but an apple the size of the table.
One palace for everything
The material blends. Keep several routes: the flat, the walk, the school.
From what age
Younger children use a simplified version — it works too.
| Stage | How long |
|---|---|
| Ages 8–9 | Five stops in their own room, images invented together out loud. |
| Ages 10–13 | A full ten-stop route, on their own; the material is a chapter or a list. |
| Ages 14–18 | Several palaces for different subjects, talks and exam preparation. |
Check your child's memory in 15 minutes
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Who wrote this
The memory palace is a level-three technique in our classes: images and associations first, then chains, and only then routes. In that order almost every child picks it up.
Questions and answers
What age can a child manage this?
The full version from 9. From 8, use the simplified one: five stops, images invented together.
How many stops should there be?
Ten for a first palace. Twenty later, but only once the first route runs without stumbles.
Can a palace be reused?
Yes, and it normally is. Walk it first and clear the old images out, otherwise the material blends.
Will the old material be lost?
Whatever needs to stay, repeat twice more — after a week and after a month. The rest fades on its own, which is convenient.
Is it good for a talk?
Yes, one of its best uses: the points of the talk become the stops, and the child never loses their place.
Does it help with exam preparation?
Yes, for dates, stages and classifications. Formulas do better with images and scenes, texts with a chain.
What next
The techniques a palace stands on, and the material where it pays off.
Memory training for kids
What memory training is and what a child practises in class.
Mnemonics for kids
Images, associations and chains — the foundation a palace is built on.
Speed reading exercises
Seven to do at home: a baseline, a pointer, a column of words, reading with a question.
How to memorize a poem
Six steps for text that has to come back word for word.
Space Memory — online memory school
How classes work, terms and how to join.
A first palace is easier to build with a coach
In one class the child goes through all six steps and tries them on their own material straight away. A manager will explain the terms for your country.
Request a callA manager will call and answer your questions