City of San Ramon and Contra Costa County Library Expand Makerspace 3D Printing and Coding Labs at Dougherty Station

Youth services librarians with the Contra Costa County Library and recreation staff from the City of San Ramon have launched an expanded late-October and November schedule of hands-on STEM makerspace clinics, 3D-printing orientations, and student coding workshops across the Dougherty Station Library at 17017 Bollinger Canyon Road and the San Ramon Library at 100 Montgomery Street. Reviewed by the San Ramon Library Advisory Committee in October 2026, the free programming gives elementary, middle, and high school students equitable access to rapid-prototyping tools outside regular school hours. Funding support from the San Ramon Library Foundation and Friends of the Library underwrites filament spools, robotics sensors, and loaner laptops.

At the Dougherty Station Library—which shares a civic campus with the Dougherty Station Community Arts Center and Front Row Theater near Dougherty Valley High School—weekday afternoon sessions introduce fourth- through twelfth-grade students to computer-aided 3D modeling using Tinkercad and Blender alongside introductory Python and C++ programming for Arduino microcontrollers. High school teen advisory board volunteers help mentor younger participants during drop-in laboratory hours every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon.

Over at the downtown San Ramon Library adjacent to Marketplace and City Center Bishop Ranch, adult and teen patrons can complete a one-hour safety certification to reserve desktop 3D printers, vinyl cutters, and digital audio recording booths for school science-fair projects or small-business prototypes. Librarians emphasized that providing public fabrication equipment and quiet group study rooms supports families across San Ramon's rapidly growing neighborhoods.

All library STEM workshops and equipment orientations are free with a Contra Costa County Library card or San Ramon Valley Unified School District student ID number. Families can view the November calendar and reserve makerspace slots online at ccclib.org or by calling (925) 973-2850.