At The Story School, our magical professors and master sorcerers weave together fascinating lessons with epic tales to create the most enchanting education you've ever experienced.
Passive learning is out and immersive activities are in!
Our students don't just read about physics -- they become warriors in a gripping historic adventure who build catapults to defend their castle. They don't just listen to lectures about geometry -- they become jousting knights who use the Pythagorean theorem to calculate the perfect striking distance.
Every one of our classes and educational events is built around an intriguing and imaginative story.
Live the STORY and bring the facts to life!
Join us for a Class, Event, or Summer Camp
Whether you participate in our unique classes, educational Live Action Role Playing events, or immersive fantasy STEAM summer camps, you'll become an integral character in a curious and fanciful adventure.
Are you ready to battle monsters, solve mysteries, build alliances, brave challenges, and learn about science, math, technology, mythology, languages, history, fencing, and more?
Activities are available both online and in person.
WHAT WILL YOU JOIN US FOR?
CURRICULUM
What do our heroes learn?
TEAM BUILDING
Heroes learn team tactics and cooperative skills to succeed in their adventure
CREATIVITY
Activities are designed to foster creativity, innovation, and self-expression
STEM SKILLS
Physics, chemistry, biology and more. Our heroes practice STEM through creative play
LANGUAGES
Our scrolls and spells are in Latin and other languages, just waiting to be deciphered
COURAGE
Students face their fears and learn to find strength in the face of adversity
WORLD CULTURES
Heroes are exposed to other cultures, adding an ethical dimension to our adventures
PROBLEM SOLVING
Students learn to view problems in a different light and to utilize creative problem solving
COMMUNICATION
Our adventures emphasize communicating thoughts and decisions
HISTORY
Heroes learn about characters from around the world and throughout history
STORY-BASED LEARNING
Online & In-Person
for students aged 4 - adult
Make learning an adventure!
Prepare yourself for any possible challenge you might encounter on your heroic journey. We'll teach you everything from handling weapons, to triangulating the location of a hidden enemy, to counteracting poisons. And we won't just lecture you -- all of our classes are story-based. That means that your heroic character will be called upon to USE the skills you've just learned to complete a quest, save a community, or even topple a foe.
CLASSES
Roleplaying
Games
Interactive
Games
Fencing
Adventures
Historic
Weapons
Learn critical thinking skills, self confidence, teamwork, and leadership skills as you fight monsters and solve mysteries!
Build rapport & community, learn teamwork and problem-solving with fun improvisational games and group challenges.
Study all aspects of Olympic foil fencing techniques, skills, and theory right from the comfort of your own home!
Take a “world tour” of swords and other weapons, and learn about historic battle techniques by re-enacting their styles.
EVENTS
What adventure will you join?
Explore fantastical worlds, brave formidable challenges, forge bonds with courageous comrades and gain heart, spirit, and self-confidence along the way. Whether you choose to physically transform into your own heroic character to participate in our Live Action Role Playing events, or you prefer to mentally inhabit your character and roll the dice to determine the outcome of your adventures at our Dungeons & Dragons games, we offer a full slate of immersive story-based educational adventures to test your resourcefulness and bravery.
STORY-BASED EDUCATIONAL EVENTS
Online & In-Person
for ages 7 - adult
Suit up in character to stand against the forces of darkness. Join with your fellow heroes to battle monsters, solve mysteries, and enjoy all manner of immersive fantasy adventures.
Join weekly games of intense roleplaying and imagination using 5th Edition materials. Games focus on immersive adventure and are available for all ages.
Magic, mysteries and monsters await! Spend a half or full day immersed in a thrilling fantasy adventure, collaborating with your fellow heroes to save the day!
CAMPS
Wizards & Warriors™ Summer Camp combines Live Action Role Playing with STEAM education to give children ages 8 – 18 the opportunity to become heroes in their own stories. During their camp sessions, campers suit up as their own unique characters and immerse themselves in the ongoing adventures of the fantasy world known as Sidleterra. Camper-heroes complete STEAM lessons to earn strength points and magical abilities, which they’ll use to battle a range of monsters and save the day.
NEW: Overnight camp will take place at
The Publick House Inn in Sturbridge Mass this year!
Take your adventure to the next level!
FOR AGES 8 - 18
Wizards & Warriors™ Summer Camp combines Live Action Role Playing with STEAM education to give children ages 8 – 18 the opportunity to become heroes in their own stories.
During their two-week camp sessions at The Publick House in Sturbridge, MA, campers suit up as their own unique characters and immerse themselves in the ongoing adventures of the fantasy world known as Sidleterra. Camper-heroes complete STEAM lessons to earn strength points and magical abilities, which they’ll use to battle a range of monsters and save the day.
FOR AGES 8 - 15
Not ready for in-person or overnight camp? You can still spend the summer in the magical world of Sidleterra! Our fearless leaders are searching the world for heroes who will stand against the forces of darkness, who have the heart to see their missions to the end, and who have an insatiable appetite for adventure. Will YOU step forward to join the adventure? All of our interactive virtual adventures utilize the STEAM-focused story-based educational style of our in-person adventures.
Wizards & Warriors™ is a trademark of Guard Up, Inc.
MISSION & PHILOSOPHY
Our Mission
To promote story-based education for students via summer camps, events, workshops, and other outreach activities
To gather and provide scientific research and information on the benefits of story-based education
To provide training for the betterment of curriculum in educational institutes
To provide scholarships for students pursuing story-based education – especially as it pertains to research which promotes the benefits of story-based education
Our Values
We believe that stories are a profoundly effective vehicle for learning
Our Purpose
To create a greater understanding of how stories improve lesson comprehension and retention
Our Vision
To be a resource for educators and learners for improving the distribution of and access to story based learning
Every child is a hero.
The Story School gives them the chance to prove it to themselves
and you will see your child grow into the hero they want to be.
Because our stories are your child’s practice for real life.
Parents & guardians: take a moment and imagine how your child will feel
when, in a moment of strife, they discover their courage…
When they stand before a villain and fight for those who cannot defend themselves…
When they speak for those who suffer from lack of a voice…
When they face failure and continue forward because they know, deep in their heart,
that they can survive this setback and try again…
When they bond with other kids who feel the same call to action and
desire to be greater than the moment before them…
When they celebrate their victory with an intense feeling of accomplishment –
because they had a part in this story and they made a difference…
When they realize that learning is an intriguing, life long endeavor
that is exciting to explore outside of the boundaries of school.
TESTIMONIALS
“This is the best camp experience my son has ever had! He can’t wait to go back! My son Ryan is usually the brainiac who no one really knows at home, but when we went to camp for the feast and heard he stood up in front of everyone to defend a spirit who no one else believed in and changed the minds of the rest, he experienced what I knew he could accomplish. Everyone was telling him how brave he was…I always knew my son could do wonderful things…but camp allowed him to show himself.”
- Marianne Murphy Harris
Testimonial of a Practicum Student: Brianna Priffer (May 2021)
"My daughter is High Functioning ASD. Because of this, most typical afterschool activities and camps don’t work for her. Often, she can only be in programs designed for kids with special needs.
The Story School is a wonderful exception.
Their programs encourage kids to use their imaginations and creativity to add to the story being told. This is not a passive program, it’s an active one where kids can immerse as much as they like in the story and be part of its unfolding. This provides a flexible environment that meets my daughter’s needs.
Along the way, the kids solve problems, work as a team, exercise, and so much more.
During the pandemic, many of their programs were able to continue virtually, giving my child a much needed social and creative outlet. They also started an adult AD&D game. My husband, daughter, and I all participate in this game and it has been fantastic. My husband and I played before we had kids and had the time to organize the game. Now, we get to play with a fantastic game master without any of the overhead. It felt like I reclaimed something I had lost, and I got to do it with my daughter making it even more special.
I give the programs at the Story School my highest recommendation."
- Jennifer French
HELP SAVE THE STORIES!
We're amazed and truly grateful to all of our donors from the past year, helping us raise over $23000, putting us almost halfway to our goal. However, the second half is often steeper than the first. We may be running with steam now, but we're still not out of the woods.
With the help of all of you, summer camp is officially happening this year at a beautiful in-person venue with over 70 heroes registered for their adventures. We cannot thank you enough for the generosity, patience, and support that has gotten us to this milestone. The donations from the last year have been distributed 50% directly towards scholarships for our campers in need, 25% towards our new camp venue in Sturbridge, and 25% towards the equipment necessary for an in-person camp. However...
There are still campers who need scholarships or they won't be able to attend. There are still costs left to cover all of the amenities of our venue. Lastly, we have decided to increase the amount of outsourced support for all pandemic-related safety precautions. We're asking our community to help us one more time as we round that final corner and begin the summer camp season.
Where will your donation go during this second half of the fundraiser? 50%, as always, will continue to go directly to campers as Where will your donation go during this second half of the fundraiser? 50% as always will continue to go directly to campers as scholarships as we are still receiving daily requests for campers to attend who cannot cover the costs themselves. 25% will continue to cover venue costs that despite the loosening of guidelines is still presenting an additional cost above and beyond our usual camp season, and the final 25% will be going toward our on-site professional COVID-19 testing, high-quality PPE, and compensating our additional staffing to ensure the safety of all campers, staff, heroes, monsters, and mages alike.
Thank you again to all of our donors thus far. Together we can make summer camp magical, safe, and an epic success.
