Experimental and computational procedures are outlined for establishing the surface tension of a sessile drop of liquid. Measurements of a drop are made from a microphotograph or by using a novel diverging laser beam projection method. The sessile drop differential equation is found from hydrostatic considerations; this is solved numerically using a Runge–Kutta scheme. A best‐fit solution to the experimental curve is found by adjusting two parameters: the drop apex radius of curvature and the surface tension. Reasonable agreement with experiment is obtained.