For David Starr Jordan, the Hopkins Seaside Laboratory provided the opportunity to replicate those two impressionable summers he had experienced attending the Anderson School of Natural History on Penikese Island. Louis Agassiz had purposely chosen instructors from seminaries, normal schools, and small colleges to attend the Anderson School of Natural History, who themselves, at their own institutions, were training young people to become teachers. In a similar manner, during the first twenty-five years of its existence, the Hopkins Seaside Laboratory opened its doors to these instructors; allowing them to enroll in the regular courses offered during the summer. Those instructors and students, who were afforded the opportunity to take part in the regular summer courses, came from a variety of institutions, of which included:

High School Students from Belmont, Pacific Grove, Redwood City, Santa Paula, San Jose and Palo Alto, California.

Preparatory School Students from Castilleja Hall, Harker School and Manzanita Hall in Palo Alto, and Washburn School in San Jose, California.

Normal School Students from California State Normal School, San Jose, California.

Colleges and University Students from Mills College and the University of California, Berkeley.

Public School Teachers from Eureka, Fortuna, Niles, Pacific Grove, Palo Alto, San Francisco, San Rafael, Santa Clara, Santa Rosa, Stockton, Yolo County, California and as far away as West Superior, Wisconsin.

High School Teachers from Hanford HS, Oakland HS, Santa Ana HS, San Bernardino HS, Watsonville HS, Woodland HS and as far away as a high school in Lincoln, Nebraska.

Principals and Superintendents: the Principal of Schools, Mountain View, the Principal of Grammar School, San Jose, the Superintendent of Public Schools, Iron County, Utah.

Professors and Instructors of Normal Schools: from the State Normal School of Los Angeles, CA the State Normal School of San Jose, CA and a State Normal School in Mansfield, Pennsylvania

Several Founders of the Pacific Coast Assembly Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle included Charles Lewis Anderson who reserved a private room during several summers (1896 and 1897), while Josiah Keep (1895) and Lucy M. Washburn (1892 and 1895) enrolled in regular courses.

Seminary, Preparatory and Private School Teachers: Lucy M. Washburn from Washburn Preparatory, Mrs. S. K. White, Teacher in Annie Wright Seminary, Tacoma, Washington, a Teacher from a Private School, Montecito, a Teacher of Natural Science, Waitsburg Academy, Waitsburg, Wisconsin, and a Teacher from Private School, Corning, California.

College and University Professors: Napa College, University of the Pacific, Throop Polytechnic Institute in Pasadena, Brigham Young College in Logan, Utah. University of Kansas, Pomona College, University of Utah, Latter Day Saints University, Salt Lake City, Utah, and a Teacher in Kobe College for Women, Kobe, Japan.

And so it was that the doors of Hopkins Seaside Laboratory were open to high school students; the teachers, principals, and superintendents of publics schools, and the teachers from seminary, preparatory, normal and private schools, for participation in the six-week courses of scientific instructions that took place each summer. Beyond the education of these individuals, were the instruction of undergraduate and graduates students of Stanford University, and the advancement of scientific understanding through the research efforts of the faculty and students of Stanford and visiting scientists from throughout the U.S. and around the world.