We had a busy fall 2025 semester at the University Libraries Creation and Innovation Hubs! Here’s a look back from the Makerspaces, the Virtual Reality Studio, and our media services program.

Offering workshops and events

From July 1 to December 31, we hosted over 60 workshops on a wide range of topics, from podcasting to sewing and embroidery to 3D modeling with Gravity Sketch. Here are some of our favorites:

Every year, the Toaster challenges students to create something new and solve problems innovatively at the Tinker at the Toaster event. This semester, we transformed the Tinker into the Toaster’s first-ever Game Jam, where students had 48 hours to create a new board or video game. In such a short time, six teams created some truly spectacular games, all following the Tinker theme: Toast!

We love partnering with student organizations to enhance their events through our resources. This semester, we hosted several student orgs, such as Tech Horizons, who looked at the innovative technology available, and the Muslim Pre-Medical Association, who learned how they can use virtual reality to enhance studying and medical practice.

We always hear students talk about how they didn’t know the Creation and Innovation Hubs existed, or didn’t know what they could do in these spaces. In response, we hosted two open houses, with fun activities to get students acquainted with our spaces and services. Keep an eye out for future open house events this coming semester!

Reaching out to future students

We love showing future Gophers how the University is leading innovation and creativity in learning! This often involves bringing K-12 students into our spaces or traveling across the state to meet them where they are. Some highlights:

We brought 4-H high schoolers to the Virtual Reality Studio to create 360-degree videos of their campus immersion experience. With 360-degree video, the 4-H students were able to show their families the University through their own eyes!

We traveled to White Earth Nation to share our resources and inspire future indigenous doctors at the Center of American Indian and Minority Health’s annual Mashkiki Maaginigan event.

We partnered with College in the Schools, a program that allows local high schoolers to get a jumpstart on gaining college credits, to teach them rapid-fire workshops in making, podcasting, and virtual reality.

 

Supporting University departments

Ever walked into a museum and wished you could touch the art? At the Weisman Art Museum, now you can! The Makerspaces worked with WAM staff to create TouchTiles, 3D printed reliefs of artwork on view in the gallery – a fantastic option for those with low vision, children, and anyone who wants to experience the art in a new dimension.

Every year, the Creation and Innovation Hubs partners with faculty to integrate making, virtual reality, and media creation into coursework. This semester, we supported students learning about anime, medicine, zines, and everything in between! Our team supported 27 classes this fall across many disciplines, including Nursing, Design, Mortuary Sciences, Curriculum and Instruction, and Writing 1301.

We also had the privilege of supporting colleagues from other UMN departments and bringing our mobile makerspace to several events, including the Student Parent Help Center’s Student Parent Visibility Day event and the Asian Pacific American Resource Center’s end-of-the-year Study Jam. Bringing activities outside of our spaces and across campus allows us to enhance events, provide destressing activities, and raise awareness about the Creation and Innovation Hubs!

Supporting the whole student

One of the most important things we can do is be a friendly face during the first week of a new students’ college career. Every year, we participate in several Welcome Week events, making it one of the busiest weeks of the year for both students and us! We table on the Mall for the Campus Exploration Fair, but also provide space and resources for college and program-specific events like the MCAE Kick Off, College Days for CSE and CDES, and Transfer Student Orientation tours.

Of course, our work doesn’t end with Welcome Week. We offer office hours and consultations all semester for students seeking support with creation-based projects, or who just want to learn more about how we can support their learning. We’re also constantly increasing the amount of resources available for students, such as through circulating new anatomy-specific virtual reality headsets for health sciences students looking to study in a new way.

 

Fun and connection

Finally, we took some time this semester to have some fun and connect with our Libraries student and professional staff. Our fantastic student staffers help us deliver maker, media, and virtual reality support for our users, and this year, three of our Toaster student staffers dressed up for Halloween with flair as a witch, Shadow the Hedgehog (with parts made in the Makerspace!) and the Lorax. (K-12 student tours that day really loved seeing the Lorax behind the desk!)

We also offered some making workshops for Libraries staff to help introduce them to these resources, as well as provide an opportunity to connect with colleagues from across the Twin Cities campuses. Recently, we held an embroidery workshop, which was a hit!

At the end of the year, we took a retreat to the Minneapolis Institute of Art to see making in another light and explore another great resource in our city. We will be back next semester reinvigorated and ready to serve our students. We hope you have a great New Year and look forward to seeing you all soon!