Education Giveaway launched at 2015 White House Science Fair.
As part of The White House Science Fair yesterday, desktop 3D printing company Aleph Objects, Inc. announced its very first Education Giveaway which will award over $30,000 in 3D printing prizes to schools, libraries and educational organisations.
In what is set to be an annual competition, the company will award 20 LulzBot desktop 3D printers to institutions adopting 3D printing into their curriculum.
To qualify, any accredited grade school, community college, college, university or library must own an educator-operated physical space with access to a computer and have an idea of how they would implement a LulzBot into their curricula, classes, or projects. Building on Aleph Objects’ open source ethos, participants must also believe in sharing resources and knowledge to create and encourage the use of Free Software and Open Source Hardware.
Winners will be eligible for either the LulzBot Mini which was just awarded PC Magazines Editors' Choice for a mid-range 3D printer or the recently released the LulzBot TAZ 5, the newest generation of their critically acclaimed industrial machine.
Entries must be submitted by midnight on Sunday, April 5, 2015 and winners will be selected by the LulzBot Team and notified by email.
As part of yesterday’s 2015 White House Science Fair, President Obama announced over $240 million in new STEM commitments to prepare young people for careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
With the commitments being made today, the President’s “Educate to Innovate” campaign has resulted in over $1 billion in financial and in-kind support for STEM programs.
Aleph Objects wasn’t the only company making 3D printing commitments at the fair as 3D Systems, the Youth Adult Library Services Association and the Association of Science-Technology Centres laid out plans to form a network of libraries and museums focused on 3D digital design. The first 100 libraries and museums in this network have been awarded Cube 3D printers, and have committed to run over 1,000 3D printing programs across the United States.
Likewise, Digital Harbor Foundation, with the Perpetual Innovation Fund, is establishing a new program to provide educators with free 3D printers and training in order to start youth enterprises for 3D printing at their schools.
