The red arrow marks the site where Tacoma Public Schools and LeMay — America’s Car Museum are partnering to build a regional hub for immersive, real-world learning in fields that include robotics, e-sports, design, and technology amplification. The museum, with its silver roof, is at left, and a portion of the Tacoma Dome can be seen at right.
Tacoma Public Schools and LeMay — America’s Car Museum have signed a formal agreement to co-develop a state-of-the-art innovation and technology center designed to prepare students for the careers of tomorrow, the museum announced today.
The facility will be built on the museum’s campus in downtown Tacoma and is expected to open in fall 2027. It will serve as a regional hub for immersive, real-world connected learning, according to a news release.
Programming will include competitive robotics, e-sports, technology innovations through application, as well as automotive-connected audio engineering, customization, and modification. These experiences are designed to ignite curiosity, build technical skills, and connect students to future careers in engineering, technology, and a landscape grounded in the future of work, the released noted.
“This partnership represents a bold step forward in connecting education to industry,” Tacoma Public Schools Superintendent Josh Garcia said in a statement. “This will be a launchpad for student innovation, rooted in Tacoma’s industrial legacy and built for the future.”
The announcement follows a similar deal between Tacoma Public Schools and the Port of Tacoma, where the school district is building Maritime | 253 to teach maritime-related skills and more with course tracks in manufacturing, skilled trades, maritime sustainability, transportation, technology, and logistics.
“This partnership reflects our deep commitment to both preserving automotive heritage and inspiring the next generation of innovators,” David Madeira, vice chair of America’s Automotive Trust and CEO of LeMay — America’s Car Museum, added in the release. “By integrating this innovative hub into our campus, we’re not only expanding the educational reach of the museum — we’re helping shape its future.”
The museum is acquiring 1 acre along D Street, a parking lot between the museum and Tacoma Dome, from the city as an option under the original agreement that gifted 7.75 acres in the early 2000s to build the museum, which later opened in 2012. The new site, where the innovation and technology center will be built, will bring the museum’s total footprint to almost 9 acres, according to a museum spokesman.
Tacoma Public Schools has released a Request for Qualifications to select a design-build team, while the museum begins its master-planning process. The new building will not be attached to the museum, but its design is expected to complement it. The partners will begin the design phase together.
The center is funded by 2024 Tacoma Public Schools bond dollars. The museum will own the land and building. Tacoma Public Schools is paying for the construction of the building and will lease and occupy it for at least 30 years once the construction is finished, the museum spokesman explained.
“We’re not just designing a building — we’re delivering a launchpad for the next generation of thinkers, makers, and doers,” said Adam Kulaas, director of innovative learning for the school district. “This is where Tacoma’s grit will come to life through relevant, real-world application. It’s bold, it’s hands-on, and it’s exactly the kind of disruption for better that education needs right now.”