MISSION
“CREATING AN ENVIRONMENT FOR INSPIRING HUMAN POTENTIAL.”
We created JUMP as a place for everyone to discover new possibilities and explore their potential. This takes gumption, a combination of vision and courage. JUMP is an invitation to look at things in new ways, including ourselves, and to try things for the first time. JUMP is our underlying metaphor since “to jump” is to part with stability (leaving the ground beneath our feet) and experience something new. When we JUMP we expand our lives, enrich our communities, and push the human story forward.
HISTORY
The story begins with J. R. (Jack) Simplot, an Idaho entrepreneur who saw potential where other people did not. He was a model of the pioneering spirit, of taking risks, and thinking outside the box. J. R. passed away in 2008 leaving behind his legacy and astounding collection of vintage tractors. While deciding what to do with these tractors, a new idea emerged. Instead of building a typical tractor museum, which would likely be under-utilized, we decided to build JUMP, a lively community space unlike anything Boise has ever seen. While "JUMP" is a metaphor for explorative play, it is also an acronym for "Jack's Urban Meeting Place." Our desire is for this place to honor Jack by giving our community opportunities to continue to inspire, grow, and innovate.
STRATEGY AND VALUES
Shared environments are an opportunity for people to learn and grow together. These are our libraries, parks, museums, meeting spaces, art venues and public markets. They are important because they spark our imagination and enrich our lives. Take libraries, which for generations have been a place to find books by which we explore the world and are inspired to try new things. In a similar way our museums and art venues inspire us by allowing us to explore the world and ourselves. Our public markets are where we test our new products and share culture. Our parks are shared spaces where we meet our neighbors and learn to play. We are in love with shared spaces because they unleash human potential. This is why we designed a large, beautiful, forward-thinking intermix of shared spaces right in the heart of downtown Boise called JUMP.
Our environment begins with a beautiful park. This park has an outdoor amphitheater, sweeping terraces, rooftop parks, meeting areas, play areas, and all with unique views of the city and the surrounding mountains. We have plenty of space to roam, a structure to climb on, and most remarkably an opportunity to take a five-story slide instead of the stairs. Every corner of the park is connected to high-speed public Wi-Fi.
Add to this park new types of "libraries" that we call studios. There is a studio stocked with audio and video equipment to record an album or make a movie. There is an industrial-grade kitchen to innovate recipes or discover new types of food. We have a studio space stocked with tools to build things, and a 3D printer for quickly prototyping product ideas. There is a studio for dance, movement, and recitals and a studio to brainstorm ideas. We connected this all to elegant event spaces for hosting galas, fundraisers, and concerts. We put the studios near each other so they are easy to find and discover. Their proximity also promotes an intermingling of ideas and new types of collaborations. We want space that lets us discover and try new things. We think this intermix of collaborative environments is the future of shared space.
As a finishing touch (or really, as what began it all) we put in a private collection of vintage tractors as an explorative museum exhibit that showcases the innovation and imagination of the generations before us co-mingling with the ideas that are moving us forward.
And we made this all a non-profit so it is as accessible as possible to everyone.
In the end this is much more than a shared space, it is a vibrant imaginative ecosystem and with community participation it will come to life. We built an inviting space in the heart of downtown so a wide range of people can come together and inhabit this ecosystem, to share thoughts, talents, knowledge, recipes, and ideas. Together we will discover new abilities and interests that are much deeper than we’d ever imagined as we unlock our potential, inspire each other, innovate together, and push the human story forward.
We believe that this type of environment is not a luxury, but a necessity. As culture moves rapidly into new challenges and opportunities we need a place to imagine, innovate, adapt, and explore. As Aristotle said, "The whole is greater than the sum of its parts." We need to do this together.
