Grand Prize Winner Appears at a Special Live Studio 360 Event with MakerBot CEO Bre Pettis

BROOKLYN, N.Y. — (BUSINESS WIRE) — November 26, 2013 — Time to deck the halls and trim the tree, and what better way to decorate for the holidays than with custom-designed and 3D printed holiday ornaments that you can design, 3D print and share! MakerBot and its Thingiverse website has teamed up with the Peabody Award-winning public radio show Studio 360, hosted by cultural critic and author Kurt Andersen and produced by WNYC and PRI, to co-sponsor a Thingiverse Holiday Ornament Challenge. This time, there’s an extra-special prize: one grand prize winner will be brought to New York City to join MakerBot CEO Bre Pettis as a guest at “Science Fair: Studio 360 in 3D,” a special event hosted by Kurt Andersen at The Jerome L. Greene Performance Space at WNYC in SoHo!

So get creative and use your favorite holiday tradition as inspiration or create a new ornament by designing something fun and festive and uploading it to Thingiverse.com, and tag it #MakerBotOrnaments, from now and December 2, 2013. Thingiverse is the 3D design community for discovering, 3D printing and sharing 3D models. Thingiverse currently has more than 100,000 3D designs on the website and is growing every day.

“We are very excited to see what our Thingiverse community and the national Studio 360 audience come up with for the holidays,” said Bre Pettis, CEO of MakerBot. “Ornaments are always fun to create and often have special meaning to individuals and families, so it will be awesome to create some favorite holiday ornaments or design new ones that can be shared on Thingiverse and 3D printed to give to family and friends.”

“As a kid who watched The Jetsons and Star Trek, how could I not be dazzled and fascinated by cutting-edge technology?” says Studio 360 host Kurt Andersen. “As 3D printing becomes everyday reality, I’m eager for our audience to take the technology on a test drive. (Also, I like Christmas tree ornaments.)”

Holiday ornaments are always a popular item on Thingiverse and currently there are 925 ornaments available on Thingiverse to download, 3D print and share. So get in a festive mood and create some new 3D design ornaments today that can be 3D printed and part of your holiday decorations tomorrow.

The Grand Prize winner of the MakerBot Thingiverse Holiday Ornament Challenge will join MakerBot CEO Bre Pettis at “Science Fair: Studio 360 in 3D,” a live event hosted by Kurt Andersen at WNYC’s Greene Space in New York on December 17,^, 2013. In addition a total of ten winners will each receive one spool of a MakerBot PLA Filament and a Thingiverse t-shirt, and have their designs featured on Thingiverse and in MakerBot retail stores. MakerBot now has three retail stores in New York City, Greenwich, Conn., and Boston. Winners will be selected based on originality, holiday theme, and ability to have their design print in 3D.

For more details on the challenge, the Official Rules, and how to enter, visit Thingiverse.com.

Note: Grand Prizewinner receives a travel voucher for up to $1000 of travel and lodging for one winner within the continental US to travel to New York to participate in the Studio 360 with Kurt Andersen live event with Bre Pettis. Winner must attend the live event in New York City on December 17th to be eligible for this prize. Studio 360 will provide a local winner transportation to and from the event. Winners outside of the continental US can participate in the show via Skype.

“Science Fair: Studio 360 in 3D” will explore the innovations happening in 3-d printing. From art to auto parts, this rapidly developing technology is bringing the future to us now. Kurt Andersen will interview Bre Pettis, CEO of MakerBot and will be joined by the Holiday Ornament Challenge grand prizewinner and additional special guests. Audience members will have the opportunity to have their favorite holiday ornament scanned and memorialized on MakerBot’s newest product, the MakerBot® Digitizer™ Desktop 3D Scanner. Three participants will be selected from online submissions to bring their holiday keepsake to the event and have it Digitized and turned into a digital file for 3D printing and sharing. To get tickets for the event and submit a photo of a favorite ornament, go to studio360.org/3D. Tickets include free drinks and music.

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 .