The project aims to integrate paleontology and machine learning (ML), a subfield of artificial intelligence (AI), to develop a curriculum for middle school teachers and students. Teachers attend a weeklong professional development workshop at the University of Florida to learn about AI and gain experience with the curriculum before implementing it. Over three cohorts, approximately 50 teachers will be recruited to participate in the project and to implement curricular activities in their classrooms. During implementation, STEM experts will conduct virtual or in-person classroom visits as role models. Students will learn about ML concepts, and potential future careers in AI, develop ML models to classify fossil shark teeth by form and function, and conceptualize their own ML model. The project seeks to target engagement with Title I schools in Florida to encourage underrepresented groups to increase awareness of STEM and computational technology careers. The project investigates questions on the effective integration of emerging technologies in teachers’ existing K-12 science curricula. For example, teachers’ (mis)conceptions of AI in K-12 science education, teachers’ AI self-efficacy, students’ attitudes toward science, STEM expert and teacher partnerships, and students’ conceptualization of ML models.