The Building Migratory Bridges (BOMB) program--a collaboration between the Marvel wood School and Audubon Sharon in Connecticut and Conservation Research Education Action (CR EA), a U.S. not-for-profit in Panama--uses nontropical migratory bird research in the United States and Panama to demonstrate how negative environmental impacts in one country can have harmful consequences in others. This article discusses the BOMB program in terms of student-learning and community-service opportunities it presents. It further suggests that more hands-on science programs that analyze root causes of critical global issues are needed if students are to comprehend and tackle world environmental challenges. (Contains 6 figures.)