MakerBot President Jenny Lawton Supports Schools in Connecticut

BROOKLYN, N.Y. — (BUSINESS WIRE) — December 5, 2013 — Just three weeks after launching a major initiative to put a MakerBot® Replicator® 2 Desktop 3D Printer in public schools in America, MakerBot has already received funding to support 490 teachers in 420 schools. More than $1.17 million has been raised by MakerBot, its partners and individual donors and funded MakerBot Academy requests through DonorsChoose.org, the non-profit crowd-funding website just for teachers. The impact already has the potential to reach 93,970 students in the United States who will have the opportunity to access a MakerBot Replicator 2 Desktop 3D Printer in their school, and the movement is still growing.

To add to the program, MakerBot president Jenny Lawton has pledged to personally sponsor a portion of the MakerBot Academy bundles on DonorsChoose.org for public schools in Connecticut. Lawton’s home state is Connecticut and she would like to see her financial donation support the schools in her own neighborhood and state.

“Putting a MakerBot in K through 12 schools in the United States is a huge undertaking,” noted Lawton. “But I believe it is a necessary one to bring our students of today the technology they need to prepare them for engineering, architecture, design, art and technology jobs of tomorrow. By providing students with a MakerBot Replicator 2 Desktop 3D Printer, we are offering them an opportunity to have a manufacturing experience and education in a box. All of us at MakerBot are very excited to be part of something that has the potential to impact children all over America.”

In addition to Lawton’s personal contribution, MakerBot CEO Bre Pettis has also pledged his personal support to fund MakerBot Academy packages in Brooklyn, N.Y., public High Schools. Stratasys co-founder, Ralph Crump, of MakerBot’s parent company, has also personally pledged funds to support schools throughout the United States. MakerBot’s goal of putting MakerBots in every school in America is being made possible due to partnerships and support between MakerBot, DonorsChoose.org, America Makes, and the generous contributions of individuals like Pettis, Lawton and Crump.

The MakerBot Academy bundle package offered by MakerBot through DonorsChoose.org is a sizeable 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, which is a non-profit platform to help teachers obtain the supplies and materials they to use need in the classroom. Since the MakerBot Academy initiative is larger than any initiative that DonorsChoose.org has ever undertaken, and is a bigger effort than MakerBot can accomplish on its own, MakerBot is seeking additional corporate and individual partners to come on board and help with the crowd funding of this initiative to make it 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/MakerBot 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.

“We believe we can put a 3D printer in every school and give our kids a competitive advantage they deserve,” said Pettis. “We feel 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. 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 we believe will help 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 support this initiative with financial contributions; donations are tax-deductible. MakerBot also dedicated a Thingiverse Design Challenge to create math manipulatives that teachers can 3D print immediately upon receiving their MakerBot Replicator 2 and use them 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/MakerBot.

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 .