Dear Teachers and Administrators,

On the behalf of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Educational Studies Program (ESP), we would like to inform you of our upcoming Splash! program. Splash is a weekend-long program running the weekend before Thanksgiving, November 18 and 19. During the 20 hours of the program, students may attend diverse courses offered by this year’s Splash teachers as they choose. Students may attend as many or as few classes as they wish – anywhere from a single hour-long class, to a 20-hour marathon. Last year, over 1000 students participated in over 275 classes taught and designed by MIT students, staff, faculty, and associates. We hope to make this year’s program even larger!

ESP is an entirely student-driven organization comprised of MIT undergraduate and graduate students dedicated to fomenting deeper intellectual engagement among high school students. To this end, since 1957, high school students have come to the MIT campus from around the Boston area, as well as from all over the U.S. and even from other countries, to attend classes on subjects ranging from Algebraic Topology to African Dance, from Programming with Java to Philosophizing with Descartes, from Boom: the Science of Explosives to Duct Tape 101.

As successful as Splash has been over the years, it cannot be sustained without the help and support from educators like yourself. We are asking you to consider the following simple yet invaluable gestures:

• Strongly encouraging your students to participate in Splash.

• Working with students, teachers, and parents to organize carpools or other means of transportation to MIT for students.

We have enclosed several posters and fliers you can place around your school or distribute to students to spread word of our program.

ESP is a non-profit student organization. Therefore, we ask students to pay a small fee to cover the expense of running Splash. There will be a fee of $20 for students for the entire weekend – whether they attend one hour of classes, or all 20. However, we will gladly reduce or waive this fee for any student who cannot afford to pay. It is ESP’s policy that payment will never prevent anyone from participating in an ESP program.

Students should register online after November 1, and then come to the MIT campus at least an hour before their first class on Splash weekend. Students must also bring signed copies of liability waivers and medical forms, along with check or cash payment of $20. Students who cannot register online may come on registration day and complete a hard-copy of the registration form. We encourage online registration, however, since students who register early have a better chance of getting into classes of their choice (many classes have enrollment limits).

If you have any questions, please visit our website at http://esp.mit.edu/ for more information regarding ESP and Splash, or email us at esp@mit.edu. We look forward to hearing from you and are excited to have your students in our program!

Sincerely,

Nelson Elhage and Alex Schwendner Splash! 2006 Directors