Drake Learning Center: A New Chapter for Youth Creativity and Community
This August, the Cornelius Public Library’s Drake Learning Center celebrates its one-year anniversary, marking 12 months of sparking youth creativity, innovation, and community connection. This room in the library was the culmination of years of partnership between Cornelius Public Library, Adelante Mujeres, and Centro Cultural, three community-based organizations united by a shared vision: ensuring that every young person has access to the tools, resources, and encouragement they need to dream big and make those dreams real.
A Partnership Years in the Making
Our partnership with the Cornelius Public Library is based on a shared commitment to education, equity, and youth empowerment. Over the years, we’ve worked side-by-side on early literacy outreach, the Chicas Youth Program, and countless STEAM activities. We’ve co-hosted events like Día del Niño and brought tutoring programs into the library’s welcoming community room, creating safe and accessible spaces for students to learn.
As Centro’s Director of Education, Angeles Godínez-Valencia recalls, we’d long dreamed of transforming unused space into a makerspace. “We knew its potential to inspire hands-on learning and creative exploration for our youth,” she says. When the library began designing the Drake Learning Center, they invited Adelante Mujeres and Centro Cultural to be co-creators—shaping the space to be culturally responsive, multifunctional, and intentionally welcoming to the communities we serve.
Maria Aguilar, Library Director, says the partnerships felt natural: “Our missions align closely, making collaboration not only easy but essential. Together, we’re breaking down barriers to access and opening doors to opportunities.”
More Room, More Possibilities: Creativity for Every Age
For Adelante Mujeres and Centro Cultural, the Drake Learning Center has been a game-changer, especially for STEM and robotics programming. Before, our own makerspaces were smaller and limited to just a handful of students at a time. Now, we can host up to 25 students working together in one space, fueling collaboration and creativity.
Angeles notes, “This type of support has created a more professional, collaborative environment that our students are excited to be part of… It reinforces that their ideas matter and that their community believes in their success.”
Adelante’s Chicas Program has hosted hands-on workshops for every age group—from DIY fall candles with elementary students, to STEM game nights for middle schoolers, to sustainable water bottle design projects for high schoolers.
“Many of these students are using the library in ways they never have before,” Brianda Regalado, Adelante’s Chicas Program Coordinator shares. “We give them a tour during every workshop so they can see the teen space, the quiet conference rooms, and all the free resources available. We want them to feel ownership here because it’s their library, too.”
Workshops have become gateways for students to return for other library programs, find safe spaces to study, and explore new interests. “We didn’t have these spaces growing up,” Brianda says. “Now our teens have them and it’s all free and accessible.”
A Space for All
Since opening, the Drake Learning Center has served as a hub for curiosity and connection. Open lab hours give community members of all ages the chance to explore tools like 3D printers, laser cutters, and sewing machines. The space can transform from a robotics lab to a family workshop to a meeting room. Flexibility is one of its greatest strengths.
Maria Aguilar hopes the future brings even more: “I want it to be a space where people can try something new without fear of failure… where curiosity is celebrated and supported.”
We share that vision. At Adelante Mujeres, we see the Drake Learning Center as a symbol of what’s possible when community institutions work together, centering youth, equity, and creativity.
As Brianda puts it simply: “I’m really passionate about the makerspace. I love it. I think it’s beautiful.”