Data centers are showing up in children’s books, classroom activities and school field trips. Industry groups and companies say these efforts can introduce students to the infrastructure behind digital services and to jobs in the sector. They also bring industry messaging into schools at a time when some communities are questioning the growth of data center campuses.
Introducing the industry to young students
One example is “What is a Data Center?”, a children’s story recommended by the nonprofit 7x24 Exchange International. It follows Honey, a honey badger, on a tour led by a data center worker named Oliver. The story explains that staff help keep the functions supported by a data center available at any time.
7x24 Exchange also promotes “International Data Center Day,” an initiative intended to raise awareness of the industry and encourage interest in future careers. Its materials vary by age group: high schools can receive a crossword puzzle and information about training programs, while elementary schools can use coloring pages, a science activity about evaporation and drawing prompts.
The group also promotes other children’s books about data centers. Their stories feature young characters visiting facilities, encountering robots or exploring a digital world. The approach makes an unfamiliar industry easier to introduce through familiar formats, from stories to hands-on activities.
Field trips and classroom outreach
School visits extend that introduction beyond books. In May, the Potomac chapter of the Association for Computer Operations Management sponsored flag-making kits for first graders in Loudoun County, Virginia. The kits included a card with statistics about the industry’s local economic impact.
7x24 Exchange has taken part in or organized at least a half-dozen K-12 events at schools across the country this year. In Minnesota, Fridley High School students visited a Cummins diesel power generation facility to learn about generators used to power data centers.
WIRED also counted at least eleven companies and industry groups that have hosted student field trips to local data centers since 2025. Sabey, which operates seven US data centers, has hosted visits for students from several Washington schools. The visits have been presented as a way to learn how data centers store, process and protect information, as well as about careers in the industry.
School districts describe some of these relationships as ongoing career exposure. Quincy School District communications coordinator Jessica Blancas said the district has arranged visits to facilities run by Microsoft, Vantage, Yahoo and Sabey. She pointed to guest speakers, mock interviews and internship opportunities, as well as visits for girls and students interested in fields such as construction or engineering.
Amazon hosted a field trip at its Arlington, Virginia, “Skills Center,” a free community space for people curious about cloud computing and potential jobs. The invitation was open to high schools across the DC metro area, but Jackson-Reed High School was the only school to attend.
Outreach amid community debate
These programs sit within a wider debate about data center development. The source describes growing opposition to large, energy-intensive campuses, including concerns in places where facilities are near schools. It also reports that a Pew Research poll conducted over the summer found about half of 10,000 Americans surveyed viewed data centers as mostly bad for the environment and quality of life.
That context helps explain why public outreach can matter to the industry. Educational materials and visits can help students and families understand what data centers do, and can introduce possible training and career paths. At the same time, when materials are created or sponsored by industry groups and companies, they present the sector from the perspective of organizations with a stake in its future.
What students get from a visit
Whether a tour is engaging may depend on what students are hoping to learn. Research professor Alex Molnar of the University of Colorado Boulder, who directs the National Education Policy Center, questioned the appeal for very young children. He described data centers as places with rows of servers, substantial heat and noise, and relatively few workers once they are built.
For students considering construction, engineering or computing, a visit may connect classroom learning to real facilities and jobs. For others, books and activities may offer a first explanation of how digital services rely on physical infrastructure. The key distinction is that exposure to the industry can inform students, while the materials’ industry backing is relevant context for understanding the story they tell.
As data center development continues to prompt public debate, school outreach gives companies and trade groups a way to explain the industry to a younger audience. What students take from that encounter will depend on the material, the visit and whether they also hear how communities weigh the sector’s benefits and effects.