Want to fly a drone or build a robot? A new all-ages tech hub opens in Warner-Robins
A nine-year-old used coding and augmented reality to build a miniature world of roads and creatures at a new STEM center in Warner Robins on Thursday.
InnoLab, short for innovation, could prepare Benjamin Dobbins to blend technology with his dream jobs as a zoo keeper and professional gamer, he said.
“I could maybe make toys for the animals,” Benjamin Dobbins said. “Maybe a piano; teach them how to do tricks.”
A 4,700-square-foot space inside the North Houston Sports Complex now holds state-of-the-art technologies including a green screen room, recording studio, e-sports setups, iMac desktop computers, artificial intelligence robots, coding systems, reading nooks and 3D printers.
Participants can sit around a fire pit just outside the hub while playing with professional drones. A 14-year-old was manning a drone racing station during InnoLab’s grand opening on Thursday.
In another section, Autumn Laws-Douglas, the learning innovations coordinator for EdFarm, was building a 3D-printed dragon fidget toy.
“I think a lot of parents and children feel that they cannot interact because (these machines) are so expensive and they’re afraid of breaking, but with the right training, they can really do it all,” Laws-Douglas said.
The facility offers optional classes to learn how each piece of tech works.
Staying up to date with technology
The $100,000 facility was purchased with grant money and made in partnership with EdFarm, a national organization focused on digital literacy. The Warner Robins facility is the first EdFarm community-based space not in a school setting. Around 10 similar hubs exist at schools across the country.
“We have to stay up to date with where technology is taking us, all the way to the type of drones we use,” Mayor LaRhonda Patrick said.
Over 90% of jobs in the U.S. require digital skills by 2023, according to National Skills Coalition.
Patrick hopes InnoLab will prepare the local workforce and entrepreneurs for a range of careers, not only science and technology.
“Our children, they’re going to have something dealing with tech in their jobs. If they’re working on airplanes or at a news studio, technology is going to be a part of what they’re going to do every single day,” Patrick said.
A free place for creative collaboration
Most of the space is free for anyone of all ages, and participants don’t have to live in Warner Robins to use it. Memberships will become available in the future and users may be required to pay for classes at some point.
Bubbly decor and comfy furniture divide each section of the space, but the opportunity for creative collaboration between them is one of the best parts, according to Benjamin’s dad, Andrew Dobbins.
“Even if some school had an aspect of any one of these things... they’d still be limited to the people within their ecosystem,” Andrew Dobbins told The Telegraph.
The Dobbins family has gaming consoles at home similar to those in the e-sports section, but other aspects of the space like a professional recording studio for podcasts and music, would otherwise be inaccessible.
“There’s things here that we don’t have access to,” Andrew Dobbins said. “I think it’s only supporting where (my sons) are already going and what their interests are.”
This story was originally published March 18, 2025 at 9:59 AM.
