diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
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+++ b/README.md
@@ -19,6 +19,121 @@ make docs-serve    # browse the docs at http://localhost:8000
 Working locally instead? You need Python 3.9.x and `make`, then `make bootstrap`. Run `make`
 to see all targets.
 
+## Self-guided adventures
+
+New here? Work through these in order. Each is a short, hands-on loop — run a command,
+look at what it produced, then peek at the code that did it. Everything below has been
+run end-to-end, so the output you see should match.
+
+> All commands assume `make bootstrap` has finished (it runs automatically in a Codespace).
+> If `acoustic` isn't found, the package is exposed as a module too: replace `acoustic`
+> with `python -m acoustic_dataset.cli`.
+
+### Adventure 1 — Run the whole pipeline and watch the gates
+
+```bash
+make verify                                  # lint + type-check + tests: is the env green?
+acoustic pipeline                            # input XML -> typed objects -> XML -> validate
+```
+
+You should see something like:
+
+```
+pipeline ok: 10 band(s) -> build/acoustic_dataset.xml (schema-valid, round-trip-equal)
+```
+
+Open the file it wrote (`build/acoustic_dataset.xml`) and compare it to the input
+(`examples/calculation_input.xml`). Then run the structural gate on its own and the
+migration-safety diff against the known-good reference:
+
+```bash
+acoustic validate --xml build/acoustic_dataset.xml
+acoustic compare build/acoustic_dataset.xml examples/reference/trial_known_good.xml
+```
+
+**Now read why:** [`docs/concepts/two-verification-gates.md`](docs/concepts/two-verification-gates.md)
+explains why "schema-valid" and "correct" are two different checks. The code lives in
+`src/acoustic_dataset/validate.py` and `compare.py`, dispatched from
+[`cli.py`](src/acoustic_dataset/cli.py).
+
+### Adventure 2 — Explore a typed Python data class in the REPL
+
+The pipeline never carries data in a loose `dict`; it builds **one typed object that
+meets the schema**. Feel the difference yourself:
+
+```bash
+python
+```
+
+```python
+>>> from acoustic_dataset import build
+>>> platform = build.build_platform_from_file("examples/calculation_input.xml")
+>>> type(platform).__name__
+'Platform'
+>>> platform.radiated_noise.band[0].centre_frequency      # a Decimal, not a string
+>>> from acoustic_dataset.models.acoustic_dataset import Sector
+>>> Sector(bering=1, level=2)        # a typo is a TypeError, not a silent new key
+```
+
+Tab-completion works on every attribute because the fields are *declared*. Read
+[`docs/concepts/typed-vs-dicts.md`](docs/concepts/typed-vs-dicts.md) for what this buys
+you over a dictionary, then look at how the builder rejects out-of-range values in
+`src/acoustic_dataset/build.py`.
+
+### Adventure 3 — Reverse-engineer the data classes from the schema
+
+Those data classes aren't hand-written — they're **generated from the XSD** by
+[`xsdata`](https://xsdata.readthedocs.io/). The XSD is the single source of truth; the
+Python is a build artifact (note the `# DO NOT EDIT BY HAND` header on every model file).
+
+```bash
+acoustic generate                            # regenerate models from every schema/*.xsd
+```
+
+Trace the chain for one element:
+
+1. Open `schema/acoustic_dataset.xsd` and find an element, e.g. `Sector`.
+2. Open the generated `src/acoustic_dataset/models/acoustic_dataset.py` and find the
+   matching `@dataclass`. Notice how XSD types, ranges, and docs became Python `field`
+   metadata.
+3. Read `src/acoustic_dataset/generate.py` to see the exact `xsdata` invocation — and the
+   two post-processing steps that keep the output deterministic and Python-3.9-compatible.
+
+Want to *see* generation in action? Change a `<xs:documentation>` string in the XSD, run
+`acoustic generate`, and `git diff` the models — the docstring tracks the schema. (Revert
+the XSD edit afterward; CI fails if committed models drift from the schema — ADR 0008.)
+
+### Adventure 4 — Generate and view the XSD documentation
+
+Two complementary docs come out of this repo. First, a standalone **HTML schema reference**
+rendered straight from the XSD (via the vendored `xs3p` stylesheet):
+
+```bash
+acoustic gen-schema-docs --out build/schema-preview.html
+```
+
+Open `build/schema-preview.html` (in a Codespace: right-click the file → *Download*, or use
+the *Live Preview* extension) to browse every element, type, and constraint of the contract.
+The pre-built version is committed at
+[`docs/reference/schema/index.html`](docs/reference/schema/index.html). The generator lives
+in `src/acoustic_dataset/schema_html.py`.
+
+Second, the **full project site** — tutorials, concepts, ADRs, and a Mermaid ERD — served
+by MkDocs Material:
+
+```bash
+make docs-serve                              # browse at http://localhost:8000
+```
+
+In a Codespace, when the port-forward notification appears, click **Open in Browser**.
+
+### Where to go next
+
+Follow the guided tutorial that ties all of this together:
+[`docs/tutorials/01-start-here.md`](docs/tutorials/01-start-here.md), then skim the decision
+records in [`docs/decisions/`](docs/decisions/index.md) — each says *why* a choice was made
+and *what was rejected*.
+
 ## Documentation
 
 The full, navigable documentation — tutorials, how-to guides, concepts, decision records