Urban Heat Island (UHI) studies offer enormous opportunities to enhance Environmental Science courses at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). A recent UHI project at Clark Atlanta University, in cooperation with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), is a prime example of how real-time research involving our environment, can not only motivate students to undertake science courses that they normally would not have ventured into, but will enhance their academic performance by allowing the students to apply theory immediately.