Scientific skills, context & literacy, leadership roles, data science, data tools, simulations and artificial intelligence are important skills to be included in the course curriculum. Integrating either individually or in group, these skills can enhance the knowledge, critical thinking and creativity. In this guide, I provide an overview of how above listed skills can be integrated into class activities to help students understand tropical ecology. Through the activities, students develop an understanding that tropical science is an interdisciplinary, transdisciplinary and multidisciplinary field to study tropical biodiversity and its implications in medicine. Using simulations, students use the HHMI Biointeractive to learn about tropical rainforests. By studying the biodiversity richness, students can apply these concepts to create conservation programs as well. This lesson highlights the biotic and abiotic nature of tropical sites and provides introduction of key concepts in tropical ecology.