The goal of the FOCUSSS (Families, Organizations, and Communities Understanding Science, Sustainability, and Service) project is to engage urban high school students in a need-to-know pursuit for learning science because it leads to the discovery of sustainable resources and practices for use in their communities. Loyola University Chicago, the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry, and four local, urban high schools constructed student and family activities involving essential science concepts and tools within a sustainability context. The ultimate goal of the project is to empower the high school student to become an advocate and action taker for sustainable behavior within their personal life, school life, family life, and community life.