The White House is continuing to align itself with the Maker movement, first hosting its very own Maker Faire in June and, now, celebrating the holidays in Maker fashion by teaming up with Instructables and Autodesk to launch the White House 3D Printed Ornament Challenge.
Instructables, the go-to site for do-it-yourself projects ranging from DIY biofuel to DIY electro-dresses, is asking the Maker community to submit ornament designs to celebrate the holidays this year. The staff at the White House will then pick their favorite designs to be 3D printed at Autodesk’s Pier 9 workshop to be hung in the East Wing. Simultaneously, the winners will be published on the Smithsonian’s 3D data site. And, after the holidays, rather than store them in the basement for next year, the ornaments will become part of a small collection of White House ornaments in the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History’s political history wing.
To be a part of holiday history, entrants should create an Instructable for the ornament, embed the design in the site’s 3D object viewer, and upload the ornament’s .stl file. Only U.S. residents may enter their designs, which may be no larger than 3″ x 3″ in size and should “reflect the magic and wonder of the holidays.” The contest’s page adds, “So think ornaments that represent winter sports, toys, activities, symbols, and anything that inspires you during the festive winter season. Want to incorporate a little twinkle to your designs as well? Design a piece that fits or clips onto a string of lights!” If you need further ideas, you can check out 3DPI’s 2013 Gallery of 3D Printed Christmas Ornaments!
You’ve got just 11 days left to enter, so get cracking!
