Hrm. Running a test: I started with a toddler with three points of Peg Box, aged him up to child, and got going on the chemistry set - basically, the kid took care of needs, went to school, did homework, and played with the chemistry set. By the end of the week he had 7.5 points of logic and 6 potions discovered. This might not be as hard as I thought, especially if high logic skill makes it easier to discover stuff with the telescope. (I've worked out a strategy/schedule. It'll still be a serious grind, but not as absolutely impossible as I thought.)
I agree that travel would make it a lot easier, but given that most of the big game-breaking bugs people have reported seem to be related to travel, WA isn't even on my "to-buy" list until I hear it's fixed, which might be never at present rate.