Okay, I just redownloaded this from BFG onto another computer and when I started the game, there was a little boat on the beach. When I dropped a villager on it, it said it needed someone with more science skills. This was not on my previous version and both versions are the same version number. What gives?

Do you have a screen shot of it?

Is it not a blue bowl with spoons inside, for example?
I think it's one of the alchemy tools. They are anywhere in the village and their places change when you change the tribe and it needs some science skill!

we could use a screen shot of it?????

Maybe it's the bowl but it's weird that it's in the new download I just did but not in the one I've had forever. I'll see it I can get a screenshot.

The alchemy items appear in random places at the beginning of a new game. There are at least a dozen different locations the the items can be found at the beginning of the game, and it's not likely that you will see things in exactly the same place in each game. Once the items have been moved to the lab, you can find them all there.