Through an exploration of two experimental schools, Oruaiti (1950s) and Discovery 1 (2000s), we aim to understand the socio-political contexts that create spaces for experimentation and examine their impact on mainstream schooling. Caught between competing, often contradictory, discourses such experiments struggle between the "regeneration" and "reproduction" functions of schooling. However, we argue that while they have limited impact on mainstream school reform, they contribute ideas of a democratic society and its citizenry. Consequently, they provide "windows" into real-life laboratories in which social debates regarding the function and power of schooling, and specific visions of democracy are played out. (Contains 4 notes.)