This Biotic Surveys and Inventory project involves completion of a Coleoptera survey of Great Smoky Mountain National Park (GSMNP) as part of the All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory (ATBI) underway there. A team of 44 cooperating scientists is engaged in an ambitious effort to document beetle diversity in one of the most biologically unique and diverse areas of North America. The education components of this project will transfer basic knowledge of the importance of all living things to the youth of America through the classroom and positive interactions with scientists in the field. Another component of the project involves assisting the ATBI with developing inventory methods best suited to compile data about Coleoptera diversity. The current GSMNP Coleoptera checklist compiled from historical records and the previous three years of collecting lists 1600 species in 91 families, including ~25 new species and one new genus. Specialists involved estimate that 13 more families will be documented, along with an additional 1800+ species including ~ 50 new taxa. This project is coordinated with Discover Life in America, Inc (DLIA), an organization devoted to documenting life in U.S. national parks that serves as a liaison between our team and participating units in the National Parks Service, U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), and the National Biological Information Infrastructure (NBII). Through publications and products available on the web (i.e. species webpages) there exists the potential to teach millions of people about biodiversity and the importance of knowing and understanding the organisms that share this world with us.