Have something you'd love to teach?
We're looking for UW undergraduate and graduate students, faculty, and community members from math, science, and related fields to share their interests with curious middle and high school students. No teaching experience is required.
Start by filling out our Instructor Interest Form. You don't need to have a class idea yet, and you're not committing to anything. We'll follow up soon with more information and next steps as we prepare our course catalog for late November.
>>> Instructor Interest Form <<<
Your class could be about a favorite topic from math or science, something related to your own work or studies, or even a hobby with some interesting math or science behind it. It doesn't need to fit neatly into a school curriculum.
Complex Numbers: Math That Will Freak You Out (at least a little bit)
Explore imaginary numbers and use them to venture into the Mandelbrot set.
Mathematics of Games
Play with Nim and Wythoff's Nim while discovering winning strategies and some of the mathematics behind them.
Rockets
Watch a rocket being assembled while learning about the physics and engineering behind high-power launches.
A Tour of the Terrestrial Planets
Tour the landscapes of Mars, Venus, and Mercury and learn how planetary scientists use them to uncover a planet's history.
Glow Lab: The Science of Bioluminescence
Learn how and why organisms glow, then experiment with living bioluminescent algae.
How to Build a Solar Car!
Explore the design and engineering of a solar car, from solar cells and batteries to steering, composites, and racing.
Examples adapted from recent MIT Splash course descriptions.
Want more inspiration? Browse recent MIT Splash course catalogs: Spring 2025 | Fall 2025
You only have about an hour! Don't try to cover everything you know about a subject. We'd rather students leave excited about one idea than rush through ten.
Splash students will have a wide range of backgrounds. Don't assume specialized prior knowledge unless you've clearly identified it as a prerequisite for your class.
Whenever possible, give students something to do—not just something to listen to. Pose a problem, run a demonstration, have them experiment, build, calculate, predict, debate, or discover.
Enthusiasm is contagious. Pick a topic you genuinely find interesting and think students might enjoy exploring with you.
10:00am - 11:00am: Class 1
11:15am - 12:15pm: Class 2
Lunch Break
1:15pm - 2:15pm: Class 3
2:30pm - 3:30pm: Class 4
4:00pm - 5:00pm: Speaker
We welcome UW undergraduate and graduate students, faculty, staff, and members of the broader community with interests or expertise in math, science, and related fields. You do not need previous teaching experience.
Fill out the short Instructor Interest Form. You don't need a fully fleshed out class idea yet, but please share whatever ideas you already have!
We'll follow up soon with information about class proposals. If you already have an idea, you can get started right away. We'll work with instructors to finalize classes for our course catalog, which will be released in late November.
Instructors will attend a virtual orientation in early January to go over teaching at Splash, working with our students, and important day-of logistics.
Join us at UW on Sunday, January 31, and share something you find interesting with a room full of curious students.
Do I need teaching experience?
No.
Do I need to know what I want to teach before filling out the Interest Form?
No. We'd like to hear from you now even if you're still thinking about possible topics. If you have a general idea, we'd like to hear about it!
Do I need to be available all day on Sunday, January 31?
No. You will be scheduled for one one-hour class, so you just need to be available for about 1.5 hours in either the morning or afternoon. Later on, we will ask you if you're willing to teach the same class twice or if you'd like to teach a second, different class.
Can I teach the same class twice?
Possibly. Later on, we will ask if you want or are willing to teach the same class twice. This will be based on availability and on the number of students that request your class.
Can I teach with someone else?
Absolutely!
How old are the students?
Students will be in grades 6-12 (with an age range of 11-18).
In your class proposal, you can indicate the appropriate grade ranges or prerequisite knowledge for your class.