Capillary electrophoresis is gradually working its way into the undergraduate laboratory curriculum. Typically, experiments utilizing this newer technology have been introduced into analytical or instrumental courses. The authors of this article have introduced an experiment into the introductory laboratory that utilizes capillary electrophoresis to identify and quantitate cations in common water samples. This experiment can be done in a lab, as a "dry-lab", or as an in-class exercise. Students explore a number of basic separation topics and work with figures of merit for real and meaningful samples. The authors have adopted a strategy where students encounter various instruments and methods of analyses multiple times throughout the curriculum. The level of sophistication in the exposures increases with the experience level of the students. Through this repeated exposure students will gain a better and fuller understanding of these methods than they would with a single exposure to the technique in the analytical or instrumental laboratory. This is the first of at least four experiments that the authors' chemistry and biochemistry students encounter involving capillary electrophoresis methods.