Despite the central role of risk assessment in analyzing and making decisions about many environmental issues, most people are poorly equipped to understand key concepts about risk or apply them successfully. I present three class activities in which students develop a better appreciation for the magnitude of a one in a million increased risk of death, consider the difference between perception and quantified risk, and gain expert knowledge in public attitudes and methods of conducting opinion surveys. The activities use an aquarium of doughnut sprinkles to visually depict risk magnitude, a calculation of increased highway fatalities and fuel consumption based on patterns of work commutes, and a survey conducted by the students to ascertain risk attitudes and willingness to pay (WTP) for environmental protection. (Contains 1 figure.)