Creativity Comes Alive in the Libraries' New Maker Zone
By Marketing and Communications | 02-11-2026
The newest addition to Evans Library's second floor is a creative oasis.
The Maker Zone is an incubator full of high-end equipment and hard work.
Sounds of sewing and embroidery machines, sergers, heat presses and the latest DIY cutting machines, are proof of projects in progress.
Those sounds are accompanied by the sights of creativity: deeply focused needle-threading, precise measurements for the perfect cut, and ironing. Oh, so much ironing.
Help is available at the Maker Zone for creatives at all levels.
“I love how helpful the student workers are,” Ivy Mestrovic, University Libraries communications specialist, said. “When I come in with a project idea, they have the know-how to make it happen.”
Mestrovic found a home away from her nearby office to exercise her creative muscles as she pops into the space during lunch breaks or after work hours.
Similarly, students gravitate to the creative pull of the Maker Zone during study breaks or for class projects — even for innovative, funded research involving river otters.
Creating and Making New Territory
Caleb Catlett '25, Texas A&M Master of Science student in the Department of Rangeland, Wildlife and Fisheries Management, is part of a team that’s relied on the Maker Zone for help researching the lives of river otters, the first study of its kind in this part of the country.
The team envisioned collecting data with a small GPS device attached to a custom harness worn by the otter that didn’t restrict its movement and was easy to break out of in case it got caught in brush.
Catlett wanted to create harnesses for the project, but he had no sewing experience.
“My girlfriend actually mentioned that she had heard about the Maker Zone and that they had heavy duty sewing machines that I should go check out,” Catlett said. “They got me set up and were able to turn this into a reality.”
Librarians are Experiential Learning Experts
These are the types of creative dreams and scholarly pursuits the Libraries sought to help in building such a space.
“We wanted a place for students to come and experiment,” said Pam Hill, University Libraries director of experiential learning & engagement. “This is a place where students can try new things and fail forward in a safe environment.”
The space builds on the success of other experiential learning spaces at the Libraries, including The Studio for multimedia projects and the Historic Press Room for historic bookmaking.
Hill said many Aggies are coming from high schools where maker spaces are embedded into the curriculum. So, she said creativity is an expectation and that the library is the best place for it because it’s open to every Aggie — faculty, staff and students.
The Maker Zone is also a chance to spend less time in the digital world. Hill observed that students want the hands-on practice of making and creating things.
It’s been popular from the very beginning.
“Students were figuratively banging down the door before we were even open,” Hill said. “We were getting emails all the time saying, ‘When are you going to open?’ ‘What are you going to open?’ So they’ve been very excited.”
The Libraries collaborate with faculty on pairing learning with the Maker Zone’s hands-on resources.
Class projects are already a fixture in the room. One day, students from the College of Performance, Visualization and Fine Arts work on denim for costumes. The next day, engineering students build prototypes. It’s a great space to figure out how to change aspects of the prototype before they build it with metal or a more stable material.
Creativity Knows No Bounds
A community of makers, across all disciplines, are being born.
“In engineering and a lot of sciences, there are always problems to solve,” Hill said. “You have to be creative to solve those problems.”
Hill said she sees students, exposed to new realms, that are inspired to transfer skills they’ve learned with Maker Zone equipment into other academic pursuits.
While academic connections are everywhere, no grades are given in the Maker Zone. Some are crafting experts who want to be left alone to do their thing. Others depend on the librarians or student workers to learn sewing through a 30-45 minute project.
Hill said it’s inspiring to see those in the Maker Zone work together on different tasks in a social, fun way or in a quiet, determined way.
Beyond the free creation opportunities, the Maker Zone has a new range of workshops available at tx.ag/MakerZone. There are standard workshops like Intro to the Glowforge and Intro to Knitting, but there are also seasonal workshops that keep up with the latest trends.
“I really believe that creativity is best when students have the ability to fail and make mistakes and really learn from them,” Hill said. “And I think because we have such a wide variety of things in here that we can really support creativity.”
Location and Opening Hours
The Maker Zone is on the second floor of the Sterling C. Evans Library in room 208.
Opening Hours:
- Monday-Thursday, 1-7 p.m.
- Friday, 12-5 p.m.
- Sunday, 1-5 p.m.
Written By: Matthew Kennedy | Media Contact: Matthew Kennedy, matthew.kennedy@tamu.edu.
About Texas A&M University Libraries
Comprising six unique libraries, the Texas A&M University Libraries are a hub of resources, spaces and professionals supporting the success of research, learning and teaching. The Libraries advance student success and partner in innovative research, while providing a physical and digital home to all students, staff, faculty and researchers. To learn more visit library.tamu.edu.