Realityworks got its start in San Diego, California in 1993, when co-owners Rick and Mary Jurmain invented the discontinued Baby Think It Over® infant simulator. The company was originally known as Jurmain Prototyping. Rick and Mary, who were parents of two young children at the time, had seen a program on television that showed teens using eggs and flour sacks to simulate caring for an infant. Rick remarked to Mary that these seemed like poor substitutes for real infants because there was no crying or waking up at night. Mary jokingly challenged him to invent something that did those things. Rick took Mary’s challenge to heart. Several weeks after this exchange, the first prototype of the world’s first infant simulator was born.
Baby Think It Over, Inc. was established in 1994 for the sole purpose of manufacturing and distributing infant simulators to the education market. Educators embraced this realistic teaching tool and news of the product spread quickly around the world, with articles in USA Today, The New York Times, Newsweek, Forbes, and People. The discontinued Baby Think It Over® infant simulator was among the “Product of the Year” features in the 1994 issue of Fortune Magazine. Life for the Jurmains would never be the same.
In 1996, the growing company moved its base to Wisconsin as Mary had family in the area. As the company expanded its product line to include substance abuse education products, it was renamed BTIO Educational Products, Inc. to more accurately reflect a more diverse product line.
On January 1, 2003 the company changed its name to Realityworks, Inc.—a result of extensive strategic planning and a decision to focus on what the company does best—providing realistic learning experiences. In 2005, Rick and Mary stepped away from the day-to-day operations of the company to pursue other interests. They serve on the Realityworks board of directors as advocates of the Realityworks mission—to improve the human condition around the globe by enabling educators to show the probable outcomes of behaviors and choices. Executive leadership and a team of managers ensure that innovative, relevant and quality products are brought to the market in the tradition of experiential learning, creative technology to improve life, and collaborative research and development.
Today, with the addition of the ySTART™ Addiction Education Program and the Shaken Baby Syndrome Simulator™, Realityworks has expanded its reach around the world to impact countless lives. We are proud to create meaningful and measurable true-to-life experiences that help people make healthy choices and make the world a safer, healthier place.
