The Innovation Station is a not-for-profit hands-on maker warehouse in the North Bay where kids, families and adults build, create, and connect. Every week has a theme. Every day, you leave with something you made yourself.
You Choose the Path. We Build Together.
Innovation Station is a maker warehouse built for youth (and adults) who learn by doing… and by choosing what comes next. Our Liquid Learners approach is self-directed, project-based learning where youth pick meaningful projects, collaborate with mentors, proto-type and build portfolios through hands-on making.
We run Wednesday, and Thursday, 10am–3pm, in 3-week blocks for anyone who thrives outside a traditional classroom. We're also a Private Member Association (PMA)… a creative community run by its members.
Every session involves:
- A hands-on main project theme
- Brainstorming designs
- Freestyle making time
- Lunch time
- Guided mentorship
- End of day circle
- A finished thing to take home
Your Adventure. Your Rules.
Not every kid learns the same way.
At Innovation Station, while we have suggested themes, there's no single track. You might spend a week deep in woodworking, pivot to jewelry soldering, then finish with a music video. Or you might lock in on one project and go deep. The mentors are here to guide, not direct. You bring the curiosity. We bring the tools, the space, and the people who know how to use them.
Explore
Discover your interests. Brainstorm ideas with peers and mentors. No wrong answers.
Plan
Define your project, gather materials, draw, set milestones. Adults help, but you decide.
Build & Share
Make it real with tools, training, and support. Then show off what you made.
Every kid leaves with new skills and a clearer sense of what they're capable of.
Three Blocks. Endless Making.
Each 3-week block runs Wednesday, and or Thursday - 9/10am to 3pm. Pick one block or go all fall. Every block is a self-contained themed adventure with self directed projects always available.
Block 1
Build & Fly
- Kites/Airplanes
- Bird Houses
- Potato Cannon
- Rockets
- Free Form creativity
Get airborne. Get loud. Build things that move.
Block 2
Make & Wear
- Metal Jewelry soldering, beads, laser cut wooden earrings etc.
- Batik, tye dye, silk screening
- Leather Stamping
- Free form creativity
Wearable art from raw materials. Walk in with nothing, walk out with something on.
Block 3
Art & Expression
- Marble Runs
- Mosaics
- Solar Lanterns
- Music Video/ Websites
- Clocks
- Free form creativity
Make a painting. Break some tiles. Star in your own music video. Build something that tells time.
A Day at Innovation Station
Every day follows a rhythm that gives kids time to dig deep, take breaks, share their work, and finish with something they're proud of.
9/10:00am
Arrive & settle in
10:00am
Main project- 60 minutes of focused making
11:00am
Freestyle or deep dive
12:00pm
Lunch & Outdoor play
1:00pm
Second project or continuation
2:30pm
Clean up & share
3:00pm
Pick up
What Youth Make… Families Remember.
Simple, Flexible, Fair.
Join for a single day or commit to the whole summer (ask for bulk pricing). And if cost is a barrier, just ask us about sliding scale. We are not for profit.
Drop in
$16/hr
Drop in (by arrangement only) for any Wednesday, or Thursday session.
Who This Is For
Homeschool Families
Project-based, hands-on, and flexible, the Innovation Station fits naturally into a homeschool rhythm.
Self-Directed Learners
Youth who follow their curiosity thrive when the day is built around ideas, materials and tools for making and exploring.
Youth Who Build Things
If they're already tinkering in the backyard, imagine what they'll make with real tools and real materials.
Families Who Want More
Summer should mean something. We're for families who believe time is better spent creating than consuming.
Part of Something Bigger
The Common Grounding Network
Innovation Station is a not for profit that also offers ongoing individual adult and family memberships for those who want make things, grow things, and build community together. When you join us, you also plug into a wider network of creative families and makers across the Bay Area
What the Free Membership Unlocks
- Access to all Innovation Station programming
- Adult botanical elixir bar evenings (non-alcoholic)
- Early notice of new events & workshops
- Connection to the broader maker community
- A network of like-minded families
Ready to Make Something Real?
Innovation Station- Liquid Learning made fun by hands on doing.
Make Something Real