Moonshot Program

What is it?

A few years ago we at Physics Unlimited developed a framework for an innovative curriculum in physics designed to benefit learners from across the socioeconomic spectrum and to be taught in settings that are atypical for this subject matter. Our goal is to plant a seed of curiosity in the minds of those who may have been excited about the prospect of learning why things behave the way they do but believed that physics is "too hard" for them. This course is set to get rid of this preconception from the get-go.

In the summer of 2019, two enthusiastic college student interns — whom we had selected among applicants for the role of writing up this series of lessons — spent 7 weeks creating the curriculum with our suggestions and input; we are publishing their short biographical statements here. We hope that they inspire you to volunteer to teach this unique curriculum to audiences in your local community!

The curriculum was piloted at scale during our first virtual Summer School in August-September 2020. Our current priority is to find volunteers willing to teach our curriculum to communities comprised of learners underrepresented in physics, including incarcerated individuals at pre-release facilities and prisons (remotely for as long as the pandemic risk remains). The envisioned optimal timeframe for a course is 12 weeks (one lesson/week), but more compact and abbreviated models are possible based on location-specific scheduling and constraints.

In parallel, we encourage prospective volunteers to pilot teaching our materials to target audiences in your own neighborhood. Please also consider volunteering for one of our other pertinent leadership or creative roles (program coordinators, curriculum designers for location-specific adaptation, and pedagogy researchers).

How to apply

If you are an undergraduate or graduate student (or a certified instructor/faculty member) interested in teaching our innovative curriculum anywhere in the U.S., please e-mail us at directors@physicsu.org with a brief summary of your relevant qualifications and choice of target audience (such as incarcerated individuals at a prison, town residents at a local library, students in an after-school program), and we will get in touch to equip you with the necessary materials.

Other roles

If you would like to get involved with our non-profit in other ways, please take a look at this page for various opportunities and roles. If you would only like to receive occasional e-mails about major updates and opportunities as they arise, please sign up for our newsletter.