Each year, the museum hosts more than 400,000 students in school and other youth groups among its 1.7 million visitors. The children explore the issues of agricultural waste, biodiversity, and erosion. Through a series of hands-on activities, the children learn to think critically and evaluate environmental issues and the relationship of such issues to hunger, land use, agricultural techniques, and earth awareness. IL 60093 Impact of the Water Cycle on Regional and Global Ecosystems Students in grades four to eight at Sunset Ridge Elementary School study their local wetlands through daily collection of various data. The activities conducted under this project include field trips to local wetland habitats and to a water reclamation plant.
Students also create multimedia presentations based on their outdoor investigations.