Makerbot Launches Crowfunding Initiative to Put a 3D Printer in Every School in USA
From TechCrunch:
3D-printer company Makerbot is leading a crowdfunding drive to buy 3D printers for every school in America.
The push, called Makerbot Academy, will begin with CEO Bre Pettis personally pledging a Makerbot to every public high school in the company’s home town of Brooklyn.
“MakerBot Academy is a big thing. It is epic. There are around 100,000 schools in the USA and we want those students to be ready for the future,” Pettis wrote.
From the Makerbot News Release:
Beginning November 12, 2013, individuals and corporations interested in helping get MakerBot Desktop 3D Printers in schools can visit DonorsChoose.org, a crowd funding site just for teachers, and pledge to financially support the program. Teachers then register on DonorsChoose.org for a MakerBot Academy bundle. MakerBot is contributing its own resources to launch this education initiative, along with key partners.
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Each MakerBot Academy bundle contains a MakerBot Replicator 2 Desktop 3D Printer, three spools of MakerBot PLA Filament, and a full year of the MakerBot MakerCare™ Service and Protection Plan. MakerBot will also support the teachers with the development of ongoing 3D printing curriculum that teachers can participate in and utilize in the classroom. MakerBot will leverage Autodesk’s software and educator curriculum as well.
LEARN MORE: Direct to Makerbot Academy Web Page
See Also: This news release has details about the just announced MakerBot Thingiverse Math Manipulatives Challenge
Filed under: Associations and Organizations, Funding, News
About Gary Price
Gary Price (gprice@gmail.com) is a librarian, writer, consultant, and frequent conference speaker based in the Washington D.C. metro area. He earned his MLIS degree from Wayne State University in Detroit. Price has won several awards including the SLA Innovations in Technology Award and Alumnus of the Year from the Wayne St. University Library and Information Science Program. From 2006-2009 he was Director of Online Information Services at Ask.com.