Peninsula STEM Gym | Intentional Innovation Foundation

Use the gym

Capabilities

The Peninsula STEM Gym gives local student robotics teams a place to test robot functionality, gain driving practice, and iterate on their designs before they compete.

Carpeted field:
- Length: 35'-6" — 66% the length of the official competition field
- Width: 26'-4.64" — the full width of the official competition field
- Ceiling height: 11'-2" clearance to the bottom of the roof trusses
Two DRIVER STATIONS giving representative views of the field
Visual fiducials:
- In-season: AprilTags matching the official layout as closely as the space allows
- Off-season: AprilTags arranged in a game-agnostic layout
Power for charging batteries
Wi-Fi (ask us for access)
6 GHz field access point (ask us to configure it for your robot)

Please note:

For an optimal experience, come ready to operate your working robot. Support for robot repair is limited; access to tools may be possible on request.
The space isn't always heated or cooled. Dress for the weather.

Photo gallery

Driving and parking

11516 Jefferson Ave Unit #2, Newport News, VA 23601

Directions in Google Maps Directions in Apple Maps

We're behind the tattoo parlor, directly across from Deer Park in central Newport News. Parking is very limited. Please don't park in front of the tattoo parlor. Enter through the roll-up door facing the parking area.

Reserve the space

The STEM Gym is open only by request, on evenings and weekends. Send us a message to request a time.

Downloads

AprilTag layouts

WPILib AprilTag field layouts for the Peninsula STEM Gym practice field. Load with new AprilTagFieldLayout(path).

2026RebuiltPeninsulaSTEMGym.json
Game-agnostic AprilTag layout (coming soon)

Keep the gym running

Help keep the gym open

Since 2018, 90+ local students and 250+ students on visiting teams have practiced at the STEM Gym.

We're looking for:

Annual fabrication of high-fidelity mockups of the official FRC playing field elements
Semi-annual renewal of the playing field carpet
Upgraded field networking equipment
Help covering operating costs

Get in touch

Build the next gym

Our vision

The Peninsula STEM Gym is a place for student robotics teams to develop competition robots and have real-world engineering experiences that will inspire a lifelong interest in science and math. Since 2018, 90+ local students and 250+ students on visiting teams have practiced at the STEM Gym.

Intentional Innovation Foundation is seeking a new home for the STEM Gym, and we ask for your help identifying suitable locations on the Peninsula. We envision the next iteration of the STEM Gym serving our community more broadly, and delivering the life-changing STEM experiences we know we can provide.

Floor plan of a proposed STEM Gym. A FIRST Robotics Competition fieldhouse with a full practice field and a row of programmer tables fills the southwest. Along the north side are a field element shop and storage that open onto the fieldhouse, then two team workshops with a shared machine shop between them. A lobby with an FTC field and a LEGO table connects the fieldhouse and workshops to a printing lab, kitchenette, ADA restroom, and office on the east, and to a conference room and the entry on the south.

FIRST Robotics Competition Fieldhouse

The centerpiece of the Gym is a practice field for high school teams competing in the FIRST Robotics Competition. FRC teams from across the region use this field to develop and refine their award-winning robots.
Field Element Shop

The Gym facilitates hands-on learning, fosters collaboration, and nurtures the next generation of innovators. Teams work together to construct high-fidelity mockups of critical field elements, enabling accurate simulation of the challenge.
Team Workshops & Machine Shop

Each team has its own lockable workshop to store tools, parts, and robots in progress. Between them, a shared machine shop gives both teams access to precision equipment like a mill, lathe, and CNC router.
Youth STEM Pipeline

Grade 4-12 students from across Hampton Roads use the shared resources of the Peninsula STEM Gym to grow skills, gain self-confidence, make new friends, and discover career paths.
Printing Lab

Teams use the printing lab's 3D printers to turn their CAD designs into custom robot parts.

Our facility concept is inspired by the Lockwood STEM Center in Hemlock, Michigan, and the Roboteers Robotics Center in Tremont, Illinois.

Value to your company

For each of IIF's corporate sponsors, our STEM programs form an important pillar of their long-term workforce development strategy. Making space at your facility to host the STEM Gym would clearly indicate a similarly bold and forward-looking vision for the future of the STEM workforce in Hampton Roads.

Students using the STEM Gym can absorb your company's values and work practices, and develop a better appreciation for what engineering jobs really look and feel like. Our collaboration could also include:

Student internship and mentorship opportunities
Mutual participation in outreach events like open houses and youth days
Technical interchanges such as lunch-and-learns and red-team reviews of robot designs
IIF-furnished machine tools for shared use, such as product prototyping, small-scale manufacturing, and collaborative projects
Background screening and youth protection training for mentors and coaches
Co-insured status on our liability insurance
A contribution from IIF toward rent and utilities
Use of the practice field as overflow meeting or logistics space when teams aren't using it

Value to your municipality

Intentional Innovation Foundation can serve as your community's nonprofit partner for youth STEM engagement and as volunteer operator of its STEM Gym. Investing in a STEM Gym reflects a long-term vision for a vibrant local workforce ready to tackle tomorrow's high-tech challenges.

A STEM Gym gives the public a central place to access STEM programs for all ages. It helps fix the "leaky STEM pipeline", reaches students that existing programs underserve, and grows future contributors to the region's knowledge economy. A STEM Gym in your community can bring:

A regional hub and practice space for existing local FIRST robotics teams and visiting teams from across the region
A base camp supporting the growth of a robust pipeline of STEM programs for grades 4–12 and their families
Year-round public events: kickoff and "meet the field" days, scrimmages and reveal nights, a youth STEM leadership conference, combat robot "Fight Nights", and more
Adaptive reuse of an underused building, with IIF contributing toward rent and utilities, without ruling out its later redevelopment

Space requirements

Location	On the Virginia Peninsula
Practice field	3,000 sqft including a flat, level, column-free area of about 30 x 75 ft. Ceiling height: 14 ft or more. Floor: a flat, level concrete slab; we bring and install our own carpet.
Workshop	1,000+ sqft with lockable areas where teams can store tools, parts, and work in progress
Power	120 V for the field, plus split-phase or 3-phase power for a few larger machine tools
Access	IIF key volunteers can enter at any time with little or no notice; teams mostly use the space on evenings and weekends
Loading	Ground level, through double doors or a garage door
Parking	25+ spaces (10+ for the field and 15+ for the workshop)
Also required	Heat, an ADA restroom, and high-speed internet
Nice to have	Air conditioning and dock-height loading
Not needed	Significant road frontage or exclusive use of the facility

How to support the vision

Get in touch to discuss a collaboration, or make a donation to support the STEM Gym: