PIC initiated the ZOO CONNECTION in 1993 for students attending primary, middle and secondary schools in the United States and Africa. The program focuses not only on protecting the environment and conservation issues, but also on learning about the richness of each other’s cultures. PIC presents the ZOO CONNECTION to students attending 45 schools in Columbus, Ohio, and to students at Central Square High School in New York. 
PIC also works with four primary and two secondary schools in Rwanda and a secondary school in the DRC. Schools are selected to participate in the program by PIC’s conservation partners. The goal is to help integrate PIC’s partners’ conservation message and establish positive relationships with local communities that are adjacent to the rain forest.
PIC visits the Rwandan schools every year. Security issues prohibit the PIC team from going into the DRC but Congolese teachers cross the border to meet the team in Rwanda. African children are learning about conservation and ecology with an emphasis on endangered species. Beginning in 2001, PIC has been replacing educational materials destroyed during the genocide. Teachers report that student test scores have increased by 40 percent since children have had access to these materials.
Education First
PIC initiated Education First in 2002. This program provides college scholarships to men and women who work in a PIC partner project. As of 2006, three people received their Bachelor degrees – two in wildlife management and one in education. In 2007, three additional students are attending college using PIC scholarships.