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Fifty children gathered around computers in an East Austin classroom last spring. They knew how to operate the machines, of course. The children could type, run software and explore the Internet. But now they were handed screwdrivers.

One by one, fifth-grade students at the University of Texas Elementary School took turns removing the tiny screws that held the computers together. When they popped off the protective case, the hard drive and other components were revealed.

Several kids giggled. “I can see inside!” one girl declared.

“What is it?” another asked.

If students dream it, the School of Information will help them build it.

In Fall 2016, the iSchool debuted the Information Lifecycle Lab, a makerspace that gives students room to share ideas, tinker with hardware and create prototypes for new electronic devices. The lab offers a range of high-tech equipment from 3D printers to computer microprocessors.

A Texas iSchool student is raising awareness for hunger and food insecurity through an exhibit at the Texas State Capitol.

The exhibit, Client Voices from the Feeding Texas StoryBank, can be found in the capitol building’s Lower Rotunda on Feb. 8-10. It features 19 banners, stories and photography of Texas families who are clients of the nonprofit organization Feeding Texas.

A little over a decade ago, the iSchool’s Karen Pavelka witnessed a breakthrough for conservation of one of the world’s oldest cultures.

In 2004 she was invited to the Guangzhou province in China, northwest of Hong Kong, to give lectures at a symposium on the preservation and conservation of rare books. When Ms. Pavelka arrived at the School of Information Management at Yat-sen University, however, she realized it was the very first national symposium in her field.