The Garage

ABOUT THE PROJECT

The Garage is a 10,000 square foot regional innovation and robotics hub designed to serve as a center for applied learning, advanced technology, and competitive team-based experiences for Tacoma Public Schools students, partners across the South Sound and beyond. The Garage is intentionally designed as a place where learners explore, build, test, and iterate while developing real world technical skills, creative problem solving capacity, and durable workforce readiness competencies.

The Garage supports interdisciplinary learning across robotics, engineering, design, automation, artificial intelligence, drones, and emerging technologies. Experiences will engage learners in hands on lab environments that mirror industry settings and emphasize collaboration, iteration, and performance under real constraints. The facility is designed to support both instructional programming, enrichment, and competitive experiences, positioning Tacoma as a regional leader in innovation-based learning.

The project includes

Flexible workstations and fabrication areas
Dedicated computer science and design lab space
A competition arena designed to host robotics events, demonstrations, and esports experiences

Tacoma Public Schools is developing The Garage in partnership with LeMay – America’s Car Museum (pictured above) and the City of Tacoma as part of a shared vision for activating public and private learning spaces on the museum’s 7.75 acre downtown campus. In fall 2025, Tacoma Public Schools and LeMay formalized an agreement to establish the site as a regional innovation hub that connects education, industry, and community.

This project is funded by the $650 million school construction bond voters passed in 2024.