About
Girls Garage is a nonprofit design and construction school where participants take classes in carpentry, welding, architecture, and activist art. The program focuses on hands-on building and design projects in these areas.
• Ages: 9–18 years old
• Price: 100% teen students attending at no cost
Girls Garage is a nonprofit design and construction school for girls and gender-expansive youth ages 9–18. The program’s mission states that through classes in carpentry, welding, architecture, and activist art, it supports and equips a community of fearless youth who are building the world they want to see. Girls Garage was founded in 2013 and is described as the first-ever design and building workshop for female-identifying youth in the United States. Since 2013, more than 1,500 youth have participated and over 200 projects have been completed. All teen students attend at no cost, and students describe this as free tuition at Girls Garage. The leadership team includes Founder Emily Pilloton-Lam. The program’s instructors are skilled female and gender-expansive educators with decades of educational experience. Girls Garage acknowledges that it sits on xučyun (Huichin), the ancestral and unceded land of the Muwekma Ohlone tribe and Chochenyo-speaking people. Girls Garage has been featured on The TODAY Show, Good Morning America, The Oprah Magazine, TIME Magazine, and more. The organization has also published a book titled “Girls Garage: How To Use Any Tool, Tackle Any Project, and Build The World You Want To See,” which is described as being packed with over 175 illustrated tool guides, 11 how-to projects, 21 essential skills, and 15 profiles of builder girls and women.
One teen, Erica (17 years old), says that free tuition at Girls Garage has eliminated barriers, allowed her to practice something she is passionate about in a safe space without worrying about fees, and led her to discover a love for engineering and design that she plans to pursue in college and as a career. Another teen, Vivian (17 years old), says she loved being able to help the community and form bonds with other girls and non-binary people, and that it was meaningful to have a space where everyone listened and wanted to understand one another. A participant named Iris says Girls Garage has opened doors to many different worlds, shows every girl that she has within her a person who can do anything, and gives tools that can be used throughout life along with a community that cheers participants on. Ameera describes being in an all-girls space as a beautiful experience, remembers the support she received, and says she connected with many girls and women from different backgrounds and came out with “sisters.” Nautica (15 years old) says that if the program has taught her anything, it is to be resilient and fearless, and that she looks forward to the next project, commitment, build, and to being fearless.
Last updated August 9, 2026.
• Ages: 9–18 years old
• Price: 100% teen students attending at no cost
Girls Garage is a nonprofit design and construction school for girls and gender-expansive youth ages 9–18. The program’s mission states that through classes in carpentry, welding, architecture, and activist art, it supports and equips a community of fearless youth who are building the world they want to see. Girls Garage was founded in 2013 and is described as the first-ever design and building workshop for female-identifying youth in the United States. Since 2013, more than 1,500 youth have participated and over 200 projects have been completed. All teen students attend at no cost, and students describe this as free tuition at Girls Garage. The leadership team includes Founder Emily Pilloton-Lam. The program’s instructors are skilled female and gender-expansive educators with decades of educational experience. Girls Garage acknowledges that it sits on xučyun (Huichin), the ancestral and unceded land of the Muwekma Ohlone tribe and Chochenyo-speaking people. Girls Garage has been featured on The TODAY Show, Good Morning America, The Oprah Magazine, TIME Magazine, and more. The organization has also published a book titled “Girls Garage: How To Use Any Tool, Tackle Any Project, and Build The World You Want To See,” which is described as being packed with over 175 illustrated tool guides, 11 how-to projects, 21 essential skills, and 15 profiles of builder girls and women.
One teen, Erica (17 years old), says that free tuition at Girls Garage has eliminated barriers, allowed her to practice something she is passionate about in a safe space without worrying about fees, and led her to discover a love for engineering and design that she plans to pursue in college and as a career. Another teen, Vivian (17 years old), says she loved being able to help the community and form bonds with other girls and non-binary people, and that it was meaningful to have a space where everyone listened and wanted to understand one another. A participant named Iris says Girls Garage has opened doors to many different worlds, shows every girl that she has within her a person who can do anything, and gives tools that can be used throughout life along with a community that cheers participants on. Ameera describes being in an all-girls space as a beautiful experience, remembers the support she received, and says she connected with many girls and women from different backgrounds and came out with “sisters.” Nautica (15 years old) says that if the program has taught her anything, it is to be resilient and fearless, and that she looks forward to the next project, commitment, build, and to being fearless.
Last updated August 9, 2026.
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