Not every part of the country is afforded the same educational opportunities as we are here in New England. Boston in particular sits happily at the forefront of progressive education. Armed with a wealth of knowledge and a compelling crowdfunding campaign, a handful of students from MIT, Harvard and Columbia University are hoping to spread the kind intelligence fostered here to the rest of the nation… by riding their bikes.

Spokes America is a collaborative effort for which these able-minded Ivy Leaguers cycle cross-country in order to bring project-based learning curriculums to classrooms on the East Coast and the West Coast, as well as innumerable communities in between.

BostInno spoke with Same Green, Spokes America’s fundraising and publicity officer, to get a better feel for what the project aims to achieve. Spokes America is just one year old and hopes to build upon the success last year’s crop of educators found.

“In terms of this year’s group, we were all connected to each other by semi-randomness,” Green told BostInno in an email. “We had all expressed interest in doing something meaningful and awesome with our summers, and through friendships and chance encounters our group came together.”

Using the crowdfunding platform Indiegogo to raise $10,000, Green and his peers are hoping to pull students out of the classroom to gain hands-on experience in areas ranging from the likes of basic programming and algorithmic thinking to game theory applications.

Heavily vested in STEM education (science, technology, engineering and mathematics), the group is biking from San Francisco to Washington D.C. to show that education comes in many shapes and forms, and sometimes the best method of learning is taking the time to admire Mother Nature.

What better way to accomplish such a task than crisscrossing the nation on two wheels?

Spokes America’s activity-based syllabus is still taking shape but its website already boasts a number of initiatives participants will endeavor to embed in the minds of America’s adolescents.

There’s “Build Your Car and Drive It,” which is billed as a crash-course on the power of software-hardware integration; “Designers of Our Environments,” which takes a Steve Jobs-like approach to creating novel and impactful customer experiences; The Magic in the Math,” which aims brings practicality and gumption to subject often viewed as unsexy; and “Bio – Climb” which uses rock climbing to help teach mechanics principles such as force, torque and friction, to name a few.

Even better for Spokes America participants is that the only thing holding them back from teaching a subject they love is their own imaginations.

“Designing our curriculum is the best part of Spokes—each of us is and will be free to teach what we love and find interesting to our students,” continued Green. “All of our workshops will be original and built around what each of us considers our area of expertise. The flexibility of our curriculum will also allow us to change our plans to meet the needs of each group of students we encounter and of each school or host.”

Spokes America has raised $1,615 of its $10,000 goal and has 14 days left to raise the rest. The money will go towards bikes, bike accessories, camping gear, a support van, biking gear and outdoor apparel, and plenty of food.

The community stops along the bike route have yet to be finalized but Spokes America is looking for between 10 to 15 communities to teach in. In Teach for America, Spokes America has an advisory partner that will surely help to designate specific locales to set up shop in.

But in the meantime, Green is can’t wait to hit the open road.

“I could not be more excited to get out of the planning stages and onto the road,” added Green. “I anticipate the trip being life-changing—the opportunity to get in touch with many parts of the United States, my home, that I have never visited or seen and to interact with students and people across the country excites me deeply.”

Anyone interested in mentoring students to help them achieve their goals, then fill out their mentorship application here.