The Smithsonian Institution, headquartered in Washington, D.C., now allows anyone to 3D print some of its collection of historical artifacts.
Smithsonian X 3D is the name of the new project, which seeks “to create 3D renderings of [the Smithsonian’s] vast and fascinating collections of more than 137 million objects,” according to Forbes.
A digitization effort making heavy use of 3D scanners has been underway for several months now. Using the Smithsonian X 3D web portal, anyone with the proper equipment can now 3D print some two dozen historic artifacts, reports Forbes.
Technical.ly Baltimore is reminded of a similar effort during the inaugural Art Bytes hackathon inside the Walters Art Museum during summer 2012. One of the teams, Pez-Head, used a MakerBot 3D printer to create 3D prints of different statues and sculptures inside the Walters.