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From the first lab, in which they go outdoors to examine local
plants, to the last, in which they perform an experiment to demon-
strate gene transference in bacteria, students approach science as
something to be experienced and talked about. They recreate classic
experiments—Millikan’s oil-drop or Faraday’s cage, for example—
attempting to see through the eyes of the scientists themselves as
they ask how nature works. They become open to new understanding
at the same time that they question conclusions. Even faculty
members examine their assumptions as they see the world anew:
a tutor with a Ph.D. in physics studying atomic science for the first
time with St. John’s students might realize she had never before
asked the question “Do atoms exist?”—and its companion, “If so,
how can I prove it?”
Ultimately, by encountering the world as they do in labora-
tory, St. John’s students not only come to understand the scientific
enterprise, but also learn how to begin from a position of ignorance
and advance to one of knowledge.