diff --git a/.travis.yml b/.travis.yml
index 860ecb227..61e068378 100644
--- a/.travis.yml
+++ b/.travis.yml
@@ -25,6 +25,8 @@ before_install:
 - brew install libusb libusb-compat
 - brew install srmio
 - brew install libsamplerate
+## experiment to see if we need to brew tap homebrew/science first
+- brew install r
 ## Disable KML for now
 ##- brew install --HEAD travis/libkml.rb
 - sudo chmod -R +w /usr/local