Lacey MakerSpace

Empowering Creativity, Building Community 

Where ideas become possibilities.

At Lacey MakerSpace, everyone deserves the chance to create, learn, and bring their ideas to life. 

That starts with the next generation. This year, more than 40 young people completed hands-on STEAM projects in our shop, and this fall, local high school students began coming every week to build manufacturing skills, meet industry mentors, and explore apprenticeship pathways.

Our 8,000-square-foot community workshop in Lacey, Washington, houses more than $500,000 in specialized equipment. It connects people with the tools, training, mentorship, and community they need to turn inspiration into action. This year, nearly 400 active members built, learned, and created here, and more than 1,600 registrations filled our classes and events, drawing makers from Thurston, Pierce, King, and Kitsap counties and beyond.

From first-time makers exploring new skills to entrepreneurs developing products and pursuing business goals, Lacey MakerSpace makes innovation accessible across the South Puget Sound.

Where Your Donation Makes a Difference

Inspire the Next Generation
Your gift will open the shop to young people and introduce them to hands-on STEAM, design, and the skilled trades. This year, more than 40 youth completed finished projects in two-day STEAM camps with the YWCA of Olympia, Capital City Pride, and the Squaxin Island Tribe’s Stepping Stones program. This fall, local high school students began coming to the shop every week through Future Ready Makers, our partnership with North Thurston Public Schools, AJAC, and ACE Strategies. There they build manufacturing skills, meet industry mentors, and explore apprenticeship pathways.

Build Skills Through Hands-On Learning
Your gift will fund classes and workshops that teach new skills, sharpen technical knowledge, and launch pathways into careers and entrepreneurship. This year, we hosted 373 classes, workshops, tours, and events and celebrated 14 AJAC Manufacturing Academy graduates.

Make Creativity Accessible
Your gift will expand scholarships for low-income community members and remove the financial barriers that stand between people and equipment, education, and creative exploration. Already, 47% of our members identify as students, tribal members, or military-affiliated, and our Military Makers classes, supported by ArtsWA and Inspire Olympia, welcome veterans and military families into the shop.

Connect Makers with Mentors
Your gift will pair aspiring makers and entrepreneurs with experienced mentors who guide, encourage, and support them as ideas grow into viable projects and businesses. Thirty-five local businesses are run by our own members, who use our shop to make the products they sell. Through SBIR Coffee Hours and Thurston EDC’s Center for Business & Innovation, we help makers take the next step from idea to business.

Keep Our Tools Running and Accessible
Your gift will maintain, repair, and protect more than $500,000 in equipment for woodworking, metal fabrication, laser engraving, 3D printing, textiles, and more. It will fund the cleaning, replacement parts, and essential care that keep every tool safe and reliable. These tools also power local business: nearly 40 businesses and organizations have hired our team to fabricate custom signage, event awards, and early versions of new products.

Your Gift. Their Opportunity.

Whether someone is learning a new skill, building a prototype, exploring a career, or launching a business, the right tools and support make all the difference.

Your donation will expand opportunities, keep Lacey MakerSpace accessible to the whole community, and maintain the equipment that makes it all possible. Together, we will spark creativity, build skills, and strengthen our community.