Federal Way, Washington

Federal Way Public Schools is a school district in King County, Washington covering all of Federal Way and portions of Kent, Des Moines, Auburn, and unincorporated census-designated places Lakeland North and Lakeland South, encompassing 35 square miles (91 km2). There are 37 schools in the district, consisting of 21 elementary schools, 2 K-8 schools, 6 middle schools, 4 high schools, 3 specialized schools, and one online school. Federal Way Public Schools is the most diverse school district in Washington state, and the 5th most diverse in the nation. The class of 2018 continued a six-year trend of increasing graduation rates, reaching 86.2 percent. The classes of 2017 and 2018 had the highest graduate rate in the Road Map region. 71 percent of high school students in the district have taken an advanced course. This is higher than average, and third highest in the Road Map region. 92 percent of students taking an advanced course are earning a passing grade. The class of 2021 and beyond is required to earn 24 hours of community service as a graduation requirement. Since 2017, Federal Way Public Schools has hosted an annual STEM Exploration Night, with thousands of students and their families in attendance. In 2018, Federal Way Public Schools launched Scholar Art in the City, an initiative that displays student art and writing in businesses and organizations across the city of Federal Way. 63 percent of students enrolled in a two or four year college program. 81 percent of scholars who attended a four-year postsecondary institution were continuously enrolled.The current Superintendent is Dr. Danielle Pfeiffer.Between the 2002–2003 and 2003–2004 the school district transitioned from Junior High Schools to Middle Schools.

The Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center is an aquatic facility in Federal Way, Washington constructed for the 1990 Goodwill Games. It has hosted US Olympic Diving Team Trials in 2000 and 2012, NCAA championships, PAC-12 conference championships, USA Swimming Winter National championships and Speedo Junior National championships. Over 200 world records have been set at the center.The center is open to the public for open swim, pool exercise, family swim, lessons and lap swim.

Celebration Park is the largest and most frequented park in Federal Way, Washington.The park is 83.5 acres and contains a children's play structure, four lighted baseball fields, four lighted soccer fields and trails and pathways connecting to the BPA Trail. It also includes a community center. It is located at 1095 S. 324th Street.

Washington's 30th legislative district is one of forty-nine districts in Washington state for representation in the state legislature. It is mostly in King County with a small section in Pierce County. It covers the cities of Federal Way, Des Moines, Auburn, Algona, Pacific, and Milton, as well as unincorporated parts of King County. The district's legislators are state senator Claire Wilson and state representatives Jamila Taylor (position 1) and Jesse Johnson (position 2), all Democrats.

Decatur High School is an American secondary school teaching grades nine through twelve. A part of the Federal Way Public Schools, it was founded in 1971 in Federal Way, Washington.The graduating classes of 1973-1976 were schooled in the Illahee Middle School building. The school was built in 1976, renovated in 1987, then again remodeled in 2002. Although sometimes assumed to have been named after Commodore Stephen Decatur, a War of 1812 and the First Barbary War and the Second Barbary War naval hero, the school is in fact named after the USS Decatur, a ship named for Stephen Decatur that assisted settlers during the 1856 Battle of Seattle. Decatur was originally built as an "open concept" high school, where students were encouraged to study at their own pace in an open environment. Within the framework of this concept, there were few permanent walls built in the school's original structure. However, this experimental approach was scrapped after the 1976-77 school year when it was discovered that not all high school students were self-motivated enough to meet the district's education standards.

Federal Way High School is a public high school located in Federal Way, Washington. It was originally built in 1938. A new campus opened in the fall of 2016.

Federal Way Public Academy (FWPA) is a co-educational college preparatory school for students in grades 6–10 in Federal Way, Washington. It is part of the Federal Way School District. Charles "Ray" Griffin conceived of Federal Way Public Academy when he was a doctoral candidate at the University of Washington. After he became an administrator at the Annie Wright School, he approached the Federal Way School District to consider his idea to start a public academy for gifted education. In 1998, the school was approved by the board to open in a 3–2 vote. The main arguments against the school were that it was snobbish and that the school district should improve its current honors curriculum in its existing six junior high schools. The school opened on September 1, 1999, with 120 seventh and eighth graders. The school was located in the Illahee Middle School parking lot in three double portables (six classrooms) from its founding until October 2003 when it moved to a warehouse building formerly owned by Deluxe Check Printing Co. The school admits students through a lottery. About 60% of applicants are turned away owing to the demand. In 2013, the Washington State Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction and the Washington State Board of Education gave Federal Way Public Academy an award that honored them for having an "overall two-year test score average puts them in the top 5 percent of schools statewide". After graduation from FWPA, roughly 50% of the students enroll in Thomas Jefferson High School's International Baccalaureate program and 30% participate in Running Start.

The Commons at Federal Way (formerly SeaTac Mall) is a regional shopping mall located in Federal Way, Washington, and is the only indoor shopping center in the city. The previous owners, Steadfast Commercial Properties, changed the name to The Commons at Federal Way. Improvements to the shopping center in 2008 were expected to improve sales upon an expected $25 to $30 per square foot ($250–300/m2) by year's end. Steadfast Companies later sold the mall to San Francisco-based Merlone Geier Partners for $46.5 million in March 2017. The mall has over 90 stores. The anchor stores are Dick's Sporting Goods, Daiso, Century Theatres, Kohl's, and Target. There are two vacant anchor stores that were previously occupied by Sears and Macy's. The original developer was Harry Newman of Newman Properties. SeaTac Mall opened in 1975 on a forested, swampy pasture that was the homestead of Mabel Webb Alexander, who arrived in Washington in 1879 and died at age 96. For many years the original SeaTac Mall used a thunderbird in the logo and had a mascot, Thudius T. Thunderbird. The original Cinnabon opened at SeaTac Mall in December 1985. However, Cinnabon does not currently operate a location in the mall. On January 4, 2018, it was announced that Sears would be closing as part of a plan to close 103 stores nationwide. The store closed in April 2018.On January 6, 2021, it was announced that Macy's would be closing in April 2021 as part of a plan to close 46 stores nationwide.On April 28, 2022, Dick's Drive-In announced that it would open a new location at the mall in 2023.

The Bubbleator was a large, bubble-shaped hydraulic elevator with transparent acrylic glass walls operated from an elevated chair built for the 1962 World's Fair in Seattle. These transparent walls gave the illusion of looking through an actual 'soap bubble' by refracting light to obtain a rainbow-like effect for the riders inside. It was originally part of the Washington State Coliseum (now a sports venue known as Climate Pledge Arena), where it lifted 100 passengers at a time up one floor through a structure of interlocking aluminum cubes to the "World of Tomorrow" exhibit. T. C. Howard of Synergetics, Inc. designed the Bubbleator and the exhibit. After the fair, the Bubbleator was relocated to the Center House at Seattle Center. By 1984, it had been removed and put in storage to make way for the Seattle Children's Museum. It was sold to a private owner in Des Moines, Washington, who recycled the upper part of the dome into a greenhouse. The control chair, which had also been in private hands, was donated to the Museum of History and Industry in 2005. While boarding the Bubbleator, passengers were commanded by an ethereal female voice to "Please move to the rear of the sphere", or the "Martian type" male elevator operator would say, "Step to the rear of the Sphere" in a creepy sci-fi type voice. The soundtrack for the Bubbleator was conducted by Attilio Mineo and released as Man in Space with Sounds.

Federal Way Transit Center is a bus station and proposed light rail station in Federal Way, Washington. The current bus station opened in 2006 and has 1,190 parking spaces available in its parking garage and surface lots. It is served by King County Metro, Pierce Transit and Sound Transit Express buses and is the southern terminus of the RapidRide A Line. The transit center is located adjacent to The Commons at Federal Way shopping mall and Interstate 5, connected via a direct access ramp to its high-occupancy vehicle lanes. A similar park-and-ride lot, on the south side of South 320th Street and east of the shopping mall, opened on November 5, 1979, using land donated by a local businessman.As part of the expansion of Link light rail by Sound Transit, the transit center is planned to be the southern terminus of the Federal Way Link Extension, which would extend light rail south from its current terminus at Angle Lake station to Federal Way. A voter-approved plan passed in 2008 proposed funding to design, but not construct, a light rail station and other bus and parking improvements at the transit center. In 2016, the Sound Transit 3 plan approved a 2024 completion date for light rail to Federal Way Transit Center, as well as a light rail extension from Federal Way to Tacoma to be opened by 2030.The preliminary design for the light rail station consists of an elevated platform along 23rd Avenue South that is located two blocks south of the current transit center. A second garage with 400 parking stalls would be built, along with transit-oriented development on the site of a former shopping center. Demolition of several vacated retail buildings at the site began in April 2020. A series of 35 murals by local artists were installed on the construction site's fences, but were damaged in an act of vandalism in August 2020. Sound Transit officials called the incident racially-motivated, as the murals were primarily celebrating the area's Pacific Islander, Black, and Asian communities.

Redondo is a community within the incorporated boundaries of the city of Des Moines in King County, Washington. Redondo was initially founded as a resort, but gradually grew to be a middle-class residential community. The community, which is largely centered on Redondo Beach – a small beach with a board-walk, a Salty's restaurant, and a pay parking lot, was reportedly named by a settler from Redondo Beach, California. It is located near Saltwater State Park. It is the default location for the post office box-only ZIP code 98054. The ZIP code for Redondo is 98198.

Steel Lake is a lake located in the city of Federal Way in southern King County, Washington, United States. Steel Lake Park is located on its southern shore.