Sarah Frances Whiting developed innovative and influential laboratory work in her introductory astronomy classes at Wellesley College in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Whiting was strongly influenced by Edward Pickering and the early physics laboratory education at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. This article explores the early development of laboratory work in astronomy education at Wellesley and Whiting's underlying philosophy of education. By laboratory work, Whiting meant day-time work, including work with astronomical photographs and spectroscopy. Her pedagogy was encapsulated in her phrase “to sharpen the pencil sharpens the mind,” which referenced the importance of a student's familiarity with tools as well as the role of drawing in astronomical work. Whiting further modeled her instruction after the work being conducted at the Harvard College Observatory in order to prepare her students for potential future employment as astronomers.

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Barker worked in multiple fields, including physics, astronomy, and chemistry. He wrote a popular chemistry textbook and was also well known for following and spreading the knowledge of cutting edge developments like the 1878 solar eclipse, Thomas Edison's electric lighting, and the discovery of radium. He helped Whiting expand her scientific network in multiple directions, including introducing her to Edison, which led to the introduction of electric light at Wellesley.
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Whiting always tried to keep abreast of new developments in the physical sciences. For example, she and her students were among the first in the United States to experiment with x-rays in February 1896. Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen had first discovered x-rays in November 1895, and news of the discovery reached the United States in January 1896.
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