Hands-on learning.
A family tradition.
SchoolSide began with the success of Traveling Tidepools. The spirit behind it reaches further back—to Mike and Joy’s partnership and a home full of curiosity, creativity, and hands-on learning.
Long before these experiences came to school campuses, discovery was happening around the family’s dining room table.
Meet the family behind SchoolSide
Work, family, and a shared love of discovery.
Mike and Joy worked as a team. While Mike worked as a telephone line repairman, Joy homeschooled their four children, filling their home with school supplies, projects, and activities. Creativity and imagination were part of everyday learning.
In 1997, they began building Jolly Jumps together. Their partnership and years of creating events helped lay the foundation for the experiences SchoolSide brings to children today.
More of Mike and Joy’s story at Jolly Jumps (opens in a new tab)Beyond the dining room table.
Mike found ways to join the children’s hands-on learning, too. A visit to Palomar Observatory or a day at a farm made room for questions, exploration, and discoveries they could share as a family.
That same spirit lives on in SchoolSide: a chance to explore something real, ask a new question, and see the world a little differently—right at school.
An imagination that keeps growing.
Joy brings more than 40 years of teaching and creating experiences for children. Alongside homeschooling, her background includes children’s ministry, youth church programming, and helping young people learn, create, and grow.
Today, her 19 grandchildren keep that imagination alive. Their questions, ideas, and delight are a continuing reminder of how much there is to discover.
Teaching & creativity
Homeschooling, curriculum design, and music programs.
Experiences that bring kids together
Summer camps, children’s camp programs, and youth programming.
Encouraging the next generation
Leadership training, mentoring, and counseling.
It started with a tidepool.
Traveling Tidepools showed us how powerful an on-campus experience can be. Students could encounter real marine life and explore a world they might otherwise only see in pictures—all at their own school.
SchoolSide grew from that success. Today, our collection brings together animal encounters, science discovery, history, life skills, and teamwork activities for elementary schools and preschools.
Our purpose is straightforward: bring something extraordinary to an ordinary school day, without taking students off campus.
Explore Traveling TidepoolsCuriosity deserves a place to grow.
Real experiences
Bring students closer to the animals, materials, demonstrations, and ideas they are exploring.
School-centered planning
Review the experience around your participating students, schedule, and campus.
Memorable discovery
Create a shared school-day experience that gives students something new to talk about.
A big school-day discovery starts here.
Tell us which experience you have in mind. We’ll help plan the visit around your students, campus, and schedule.