Our Impact

The power of a makerspace goes far beyond the value of tools and training.

The safe environment we create serves to improve youth and community emotional resiliency and bolster economic potential through creative expression and vocational exposure.

As a community-run, community-benefiting organization, the Roundhouse enriches lives with meaningful professional and recreational arts and education programs.

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By helping members and students become more confident and empowered designers, builders, makers, and problem-solvers, we invest in the creative capital of our region to improve our community's health and local economy.
The Roundhouse is a community makerspace that exists for all members of the Greater Truckee and North Lake Tahoe mountain community and serves as a catalyst for a more connected and creative world. We provide accessible resources -- tools and teachers and programs -- in a collaborative environment where young and old come together to explore their creative potential.
We stand out as the only makerspace in the area; before the Roundhouse, there were no programs like this in our region to engage learners in creative problem-solving through hands-on design, iteration, and construction.
Partners: St Clare’s, Aim High, TEA, Keep Truckee Green

As an institution that supports entrepreneurship, the Roundhouse serves as a launchpad for
small businesses, with affordable access to its tools and resources. We provide the tools, the training, and the mentors for makers to achieve their dreams.
Members can access expensive equipment and technologies without the cost of ownership, leading to increased creativity and innovation.
Partners: Pacific Crest, Terra Ligna

We have more than 300 members, ranging in age from 8 to 82. These are retiree guitar makers or furniture builders, entrepreneurs using the space to develop innovative prototypes, families working together on group projects, or fine artists making gallery pieces —there is no limit to the type of users the makerspace attracts.
Engagement in Truckee Roundhouse enrichment activities provides a pathway to authentic connection to reduce loneliness. Classes also connect people in their community to those who might not otherwise meet; people of different ages, abilities, backgrounds, and professions.
Research has shown that art enrichment, regardless of the medium you use, can bolster mood, improve self-confidence, and reduce stress overall.
Research studies have also shown that those suffering from PTSD, Anxiety Disorders, Depression, Insomnia and any level of chronic pain have achieved a reduction in symptoms by incorporating creative activities into their lives.
We continue to be inspired by the ways our community comes together in creative play — to heal a lonely heart, to awaken a new passion or hobby, the ways love is expressed through personalized and handmade gifts, the intermix of generations to teach and learn new skills, partnerships formed to build and encourage new business endeavors or the friendships formed through the shared love of making something with one’s own hands.
Partners: Swep, LQBTQ, TAP, Maker Show

Our programs create pathways to economic independence for non-traditional learners and others who may not attach themselves to education or the workforce, thus contributing to a more connected and inclusive community.
The making process brings numerous benefits as people, young and old, exercise their creativity: they receive instruction in project design and execution, forge peer-to-peer relationships through teamwork, apply problem-solving skills, increase their self-esteem, try experimentation, and apply math and science principles to real-life situations.
Partners: Sierra High, Truckee River School, Maker-in- Residence Program, Scholarship Program