The Omaha Science Media Project students were rising ninth graders in the Omaha Public School System. Nominated by building principals, these students were invited to apply and were interviewed by the OPS Science Curriculum and Learning team. Science was not necessarily these students favorite topic. Rather they were students that had demonstrated a high level of ability in other courses and were interested in exploring new ways to learn science. The students came from seven different middle schools and worked on teams as peers with teachers from across the district.