48 Hours Into Program, MakerBot Funds MakerBot Academy Bundles to Public Schools

BROOKLYN, N.Y. — (BUSINESS WIRE) — November 15, 2013 — MakerBot announced the MakerBot Academy earlier this week, a mission to put a MakerBot® Replicator® 2 Desktop 3D Printer in every school in America. This initiative is a unique partnership between MakerBot, DonorsChoose.org America Makes, and Autodesk, and was a response to a call to action by the President of the United States.

To accomplish this goal, MakerBot partnered with DonorsChoose.org, America Makes and Autodesk to put thousands of MakerBot Academy 3D printing bundles into public school classrooms across the nation. In the first 48 hours of the program, MakerBot is proud to report that teachers jumped into action and rapidly registered their project requests on DonorsChoose.org/makerbot and are making progress on the crowd funding of the MakerBot Academy bundle for schools. Many requests (82) have already been funded, approved, and are on their way to receiving a MakerBot Academy bundle within the next couple weeks.

The MakerBot Academy bundle package offered by MakerBot through DonorsChoose.org is a 25 percent discount on the bundle that includes a MakerBot Replicator 2 Desktop 3D Printer, three rolls of MakerBot PLA Filament, and MakerBot MakerCare™ Service and Protection Plan. This discount is available only through the DonorsChoose.org platform, and is offered to make the crowd funding of this initiative easier for teachers, students, families, community leaders and business to join the effort. With a base price of $2,000, the MakerBot Academy bundle on DonorsChoose.org is available as long as funding and supplies last. The MakerBot Academy bundles are subject to taxes, shipping and handling fees, and an optional donation fee by DonorsChoose.org, which varies by the location of the school.

Bre Pettis, CEO of MakerBot, has personally pledged to put a MakerBot Replicator 2 Desktop 3D Printer in public high schools in Brooklyn, N.Y., the hometown of MakerBot and where MakerBot Replicator 2 and MakerBot® Digitizer™ Desktop 3D Scanners are manufactured. Pettis’ and MakerBot’s commitment is so strong to putting MakerBot Replicator 2 Desktop 3D Printers in schools, that Pettis and MakerBot are encouraging others to join this effort and help move America’s students to the forefront of technology and global competitiveness.

“We can do this. We can put a 3D printer in every school and give our kids a competitive advantage they deserve,” said Pettis. “A MakerBot is a manufacturing education in a box. We need to encourage our teachers and our youth to think differently about manufacturing and innovation, and 3D printing is a way to accomplish this. When you have a MakerBot Desktop 3D Printer, you see the world differently. Instead of waiting for someone to create a product for you, you can create your own. It can change the whole paradigm of how our children will see innovation and manufacturing in America. Having a MakerBot in the classroom can also encourage kids to follow their passions and helps develop more engineers, architects, industrial designers, artists, and entrepreneurs.”

Here’s how you can help. Get the word out to teachers throughout the U.S. and have them register at DonorsChoose.org. Then support their request by contributing to the effort by choosing a teacher and project to support on DonorsChoose.org. Individuals, corporations and community leaders can come on board to help; donations are tax-deductible. MakerBot also is offering a Thingiverse Design Challenge this next week to have the 3D printing and design community create math manipulatives that teachers can 3D print immediately upon receiving their MakerBot Replicator 2 and use the to improve Science Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education.

For more information on MakerBot Academy, visit makerbot.com/Academy. For more information on supporting or registering for the program, visit DonorsChoose.org.

About MakerBot

MakerBot, a subsidiary of Stratasys, Ltd., is leading the Next Industrial Revolution by setting the standards in reliable and affordable desktop 3D printing. Founded in 2009, MakerBot has built the largest installed base of desktop 3D printers sold to innovative and industry-leading customers worldwide, including engineers, architects, designers, educators and consumers. The MakerBot 3D Ecosystem drives accessibility and rapid adoption of 3D printing and includes: Thingiverse.com, the MakerBot Digitizer Desktop 3D Scanner, the MakerBot Replicator line of Desktop 3D Printers, MakerWare software, MakerCare, the MakerBot retail store, and strategic partnerships with top-tier brands. MakerBot has been honored with many accolades, including Popular Mechanics’ “Overall Winner” for best 3D printer, Time Magazine’s “Best Inventions of 2012,” Popular Mechanics’ “Editor’s Choice Award,” Popular Science’s “Product of the Year,” Fast Company’s “One of the World’s Top 10 Most Innovative Companies in Consumer Electronics,” and many more. Join the Next Industrial Revolution by following MakerBot at makerbot.com.

About Stratasys

Stratasys Ltd. (Nasdaq: SSYS), headquartered in Minneapolis, Minn. and Rehovot, Israel, manufactures 3D printers and materials for prototyping and production. The company’s patented FDM <