Traditional beliefs in the Mexican-American border region were compiled by students in an introductory general chemistry course. A subset of these traditional beliefs was used to develop a survey administered in later chemistry courses and as the basis for short research studies conducted by students in these later chemistry courses. The data presented here show the results of the study in terms of the nature of traditional beliefs in the Mexican-American border region, the extent to which students accept these traditional beliefs, and the positive impact of exploring the traditional beliefs on students' appreciation and interest in traditional beliefs and in conventional science. (Contains 7 tables.)