to build and share physics knowledge, without barriers.
Change can’t wait.
College tuition has outpaced inflation by over 30 percent in public institutions. Graduation rates are stalling. Student debt acts as friction on the economy. Public funding for higher education is declining. And the job market is moving sideways.
Access to today’s jobs and meaningful work depend more on a portfolio of practical experience than a resume of credentials. Our mission aims to open access to the former in lieu of the latter.
Our vision
an ecosystem of organizations purpose built to advance universal access to scientific knowledge.
We are building toward a world where students are paid to learn on the job, whose output are universally accessible educational materials and scientific publications, and where public outreach is built into the organization’s structure.
Educational materials are free and universally accessible online, native to the platforms where the public is already actively engaged. Changing as they do. Good science and active research is prominent in the public sphere by design.
The more students on the path to an education,
the more paths to an education we need.
Our Core Values
Outreach is Paramount!
We believe the people best positioned to advocate for Science are scientists. A lack of public understanding is ultimately a failure of the scientific community to advocate and inform.
We believe that strong incentives for public engagement should be built into any scientific organization.
Be Outside.
Extending ourselves outside the ordinary is a crucial part of the creative process. Often, progress comes from that associated discomfort. Being outdoors, alone or together is a great way to foster growth and facilitate learning.
The Pasayten Wilderness, our namesake environment, has a complicated past, and it is our duty to raise awareness, recreate and assist with improvements in our own backyard.
Plurality of Perspectives.
Just as a diverse array of experiments have verified General Relativity, we believe generally that the Truth is best modeled by a plurality of voices. This applies both to scientists and science organizations, and their different approaches to teaching, research and learning.
We are fiercely independent in our approach, and aim to support others in their own.
Equality of Opportunity.
Tuition, time and temperament are all barriers to education. While individuals must act deliberately to learn, open access to the materials and methods can empower the broadest set of individuals to both learn and teach.
As educational curiosities and needs exist on a spectrum, we believe giving individuals agency over their education can best serve the most people.
Learn by Teaching.
The best way to learn, relearn or master a subject is to teach it. That’s why we’re here.
Our ultimate aim is to get folks teaching others mathematics and physics.
Deliberate Action.
There is no recipe for teaching or learning physics. It’s an interactive and dynamic process. Much of it requires focused practice by the student. It’s a struggle.
We believe the role of teachers is to facilitate that individual work, shove occasionally and share big ideas and the connections between them.
Meet people where they are.
Wherever possible, scientists ought to make their work easy for people to access and allow individuals agency to learn or teach as they will, in ways best for themselves and their students.
We prioritize publishing on platforms where users already are. Facilitated learning is still important, but we aim to expand its scope by making those materials widely available.
