The Children’sSpace Trust

Teach a week of Mission School

For engineers, scientists and anyone else who works in space. You don’t need to be a teacher or a presenter. STEM Ambassadors are very welcome. Children want real stories from real jobs.

What happens

  • Before

    A 15-minute chat with us. Then we send the teaching pack: a short script and slides for your week, written for ages 4 to 14. You’ll be one of a team of two or three engineers sharing the six weeks.

  • On the call

    Teach the topic with things from your own work: a satellite you’re building, a launch you worked on, a picture of Earth from orbit. Then help the children with the next step of their mission.

  • Questions

    Expect anything. “Can you see my house from space?” is a classic, and in week six the answer is yes.

  • After

    We post you the crew’s flight logs to sign, and send a thank-you your company can share (with no photos of children).

A team in full white cleanroom suits inspecting a gold-coated telescope mirror with a torch
Photo: NASA/Chris Gunn

How to teach a good session

  • Bring one thing

    A part, a model, a photo, a video of a launch. One real object beats twenty slides.

  • Talk for ten minutes, not thirty

    Sessions are 30 to 40 minutes. Leave most of it for the mission work and the questions.

  • Use plain words

    “Orbit” is fine once you’ve explained it. “Sun-synchronous” can wait.

  • Follow the play team

    They know the children. If they say it’s time to wrap up, wrap up.

  • Keep it about space

    Don’t ask children why they’re in hospital or how they feel. Ask what they’d put on their satellite.

What we give you

  • The teaching pack

    A script and slides for your week, plus our safeguarding rules.

  • A practice call

    Fifteen minutes with us to check your sound, camera and screen sharing.

  • A host on every call

    The Trust hosts every session, so you’re never on your own.

Time

About two to three hours per mission, including preparation. Most engineers teach one or two sessions.

Keeping children safe

Every engineer has a DBS check (STEM Ambassadors already do). The Trust hosts every session and hospital staff are always in the room. Children are never on a one-to-one call, nothing is recorded, and engineers never ask for or keep a child’s name or details.

Every volunteer follows our safeguarding policy. We’ll publish it here before the first session.

Register your interest

Email us your name, where you work and what you work on.

Email to volunteer