This article describes the Science Research Workshop Program (SRW) and discusses how it provides students a legitimate science experience. SRW, which is funded by the National Science Foundation, is an apprenticeship-style program in which students write proposals requesting resources to research an original question. The program creates a carefully scaffolded environment that engages students in legitimate scientific practice. It works from the premise that "doing science" does not simply consist of knowing relevant scientific concepts and mastering lab skills and procedures but includes a complex understanding of the norms, rules, practices, and concepts in which scientific knowledge and skills are embedded. By giving students legitimate scientific experiences, removing barriers that prevent them from entering the community of practice, and supporting them in undertaking authentic scientific activities, the SRW program is designed to place students a step closer to understanding what it means to work as a scientist. (Contains 1 figure and 18 resources.)