14 DAY TRIAL // 3D printing holds a lot of potential for education in a lot of areas, but it's far from a reality at this point. MakerBot wants to change that, in the US at least, and it's starting an initiative to get 3D printers to as many schools as possible.
So the company has set up a program to help schools get a 3D printer if they want one. The program, as is the norm these days, depends on crowdfunding. Schools can set up a campaign and get help paying for a MakerBot Replicator 2 and a few spools of plastic to get started.
The idea is simple; teachers who want a 3D printer for their classroom can go to DonorsChoose.org and create a new project request.
They have to raise $2,352 (€1,753) to pay for the printer and the plastic, though that's cheaper than the full retail price of $2,700 (€2,012) since the company is providing the one-year service plan for free.
There is a catch, however: schools interested in the program can't just rely on donations and online funding, they have to raise $98 (€73) by themselves, offline, as a sign that there's real interest in the program and that the printer won't go to waste.
"Together with America Makes, and by leveraging the crowdfunding power of DonorsChoose.org, we're launching our first MakerBot Academy initiative: Get thousands of MakerBot Replicator 2 Desktop 3D Printers into K-12 public school classrooms across the country — by December 31, 2013," MakerBot boasted.
Obviously, the idea of bringing a 3D printer to every school in the US is a "little" ambitious to the point that it's unfeasible. But MakerBot has some support from several companies, like America Makes and Autodesk, as well as from its parent company, Stratasys. The MakerBot Academy site has more details if you want to get involved.