At the heart of Head‑Royce's South Campus, in the Lee Family STEM Center, sits one of the most innovative learning spaces in independent school education.
The Collaboratory is where design thinking, making, and equity-centered creativity come together… a place where students of all ages learn to ask better questions, listen more deeply, and build solutions in service of people and communities. A dramatic two-story retractable glass door opens the Collaboratory to the outdoors, seamlessly connecting indoor innovation with outdoor gathering and making. Inside, open multidisciplinary spaces — including a Tool Room, a Digital Fabrication Lab, and woodworking and robotics areas — invite students to experiment, iterate, and bring their ideas to life.
The Collaboratory is more than a space. It's a philosophy, and it's grounded in the belief that everyone is a designer, capable of designing for good. That philosophy is showing up across the school: 2nd graders exploring identity through the Melanin Lab, 4th graders designing circuits to improve a 9th grader's morning, 5th graders creating tools for cultural exploration across three languages.
The work is hands-on, cross-disciplinary, and deeply human…preparing students not for our past, but for the uncertain, possibility-filled future they will design themselves.
