Wooden trains are typically promoted as toys - with accompanying stories, videos and commercial products. That marketing can be a barrier for children in elementary school who feel they've 'outgrown' them. Prepackaged and branded, the potential for wooden trains as a foundation for STEAM and collaborative play is easily overlooked...

Train tables and wood track are found in homes, preschools, children's museums and even some businesses. A few organizations have the space, imagination and resourcing to construct a custom railway. But it is rare to find creative workshops or STEAM activities built around wooden trains.

wRailway was established to share ideas, learning and - in some cases - resources with organizations serving families in creative ways. It builds on past charitable work, leveraging a decade of volunteer experience in the Pacific Northwest and a handful of 501c3 organizations further afield. Workshops and STEAM activities are built upon wTrak's standard for modular wooden railways as well as custom track and tiles from elevatedTrak's series. Most, however, can be adapted to leverage other resources on hand.

Organizations that align well with our mission include children's museums, train museums and children's maker spaces. But many other groups are potentially a fit. Prospective organizations for a modular wooden railway or custom wooden railway resource donation should:
- be a 501(c)(3) serving children through at least elementary school,
- be an emerging children's museum, railway museum or STEAM-based organization
with a local presence,
- provide mobile, popup or other periodic regional event support,
- be accessible to the public, and
lack resources (financial and volunteer) to fund and construct a railway - but have
access to someone capable of minor touch-ups (glue, sharpie, varnish)

Other factors considered when prioritizing support:
- programs and exhibits link underserved communities,
(broadly defined to include those remote from population centers,
kids on the spectrum, families with limited resources,
cultural diversity or other barriers and challenges)
- space available for permanent or periodic hands-on exhibits,
- geographically distant from an existing modular layout,
- active in a variety of community events and/or Train Shows,
- affiliation with local train clubs,
- conducts Workshops or Maker Events for kids, and/or
- holds periodic train-themed evenings or weekend events