3D Printing

MakerBot Makes Paper Clips, Bubble Wrap & Pencils Visible at Museum of Design Atlanta

I don’t mean to brag, but I am impressed every day by the little pieces of design around me. Not the pop art that sprawls across Tumblr, but the little inventions that make modern life what it is: chairs, lamps, tables, straws, forks, spoons. Spoons! Damn what a brilliant idea those were. To pay tribute to those small artifacts of design that make everyday life just that much easier, the Museum of Design Atlanta (MODA) has put on, from February 23 – May 11, an exhibit titled “Hidden Heroes: The Genius of Everyday Things” and they’ve enlisted the help of MakerBot.

paperclip hiddenheroes MakerBot 3D Printing
From the Hidden Heroes website

The traveling exhibit, organized by Vitra Design Museum in Germany and Hi-Cone, will tell the tale of 36 ordinary things, like paper clips, bubble wrap and pencils. And, at MODA’s Design Bar, patrons will have the opportunity to 3D print such ordinary things with a series of MakerBot Replicator 2 3D printers. MakerBot CEO, Bre Pettis expressed his thoughts on the event, “We are really excited to partner with MODA on the Hidden Heroes exhibition. Design is a huge part of 3D printing, and we’re excited to show how easy and accessible 3D design and 3D printing of everyday items are and can help transform someone from being a passive observer, to being an active participant in the design process.

MODA’ executive director, Laura Flusche, said, “We’re thrilled to bring MakerBot into the MODA Design Bar so that our visitors can have hands-on experiences designing and creating 3D objects. It’s especially appropriate that we are able to do so during the Hidden Heroes exhibition, because 3D printers provide a revolutionary way to manufacture everyday objects and to customize them in accordance with individual needs and tastes. We believe this technology will change the way we create, use and think about everyday objects in our lives.

In addition to the MakerBot fun found at the Design Bar, patrons will be treated to a number of other educational activities. By seeing how easily 3D printing can be utilized to produce simple, but essential items, it’s possible that young innovators will come away with ways to make new hidden heroes.  Did you know that those rolly wheels on suitcases weren’t developed until 1970 and that the long handles to drag them didn’t come about until 1987? There’s just gotta be some genius little inventions left out there to be invented.