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Valley fever, a disease caused by the soilborne fungal pathogen Coccidioides spp., is on the rise in the southwestern United States and is suspected of expanding its habitat in response to climate change. Many people residing in endemic areas are unaware of the risk of contracting coccidioidomycosis by inhaling fugitive dust that may contain dormant arthroconidia of this fungus. In an effort to teach students about the ongoing epidemic of valley fever and reduce incidence of the disease through education, we developed an inquirybased, multi-focus laboratory exercise that (1) increases awareness of valley fever incidence, disease symptoms, and ongoing efforts of disease prevention; (2) teaches about the pathogen's ecology; and (3) familiarizes students with molecular techniques targeting pathogen identification. This laboratory exercise uses polymerase chain reaction to detect Coccidioides spp. in DNA extracts from soil samples collected by students across different soil environments. Additionally, this exercise will teach students how to use publicly available data to investigate disease incidence over time and characterize soils the pathogen may inhabit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]