In 2020, the Smithsonian launched Smithsonian Open Access, releasing millions of 2D and 3D images into the public domain. People can freely download 3D models of artifacts like the Apollo 11 Command Module or life masks of Abraham Lincoln and create tangible replicas using their own 3D printers. The Smithsonian has been at the forefront of this type of access, providing models for printing since way back in 2013 when 3D printers started to become more affordable. It remains a unique idea for increasing engagement and access, and the Smithsonian promises even more to come.
What have other museums been doing with 3D printing in recent years? More specifically, how are different types of museums using 3D printers for visitor engagement? Has anything changed since the 2013 – 2016 flurry of adoption and innovation? Let’s take a look.
Touching the Untouchable
Just last month, in October 2024, the Museo del Violino in Cremona, Italy, unveiled a 3D-printed replica of the 1715 Stradivarius Cremonese violin. Crafted from nylon, the model allows visitors to handle and examine the instrument’s intricate details, with an aim to foster a deeper appreciation for the craftsmanship of the original. Read about the development process here.
Personalized Experiences (and Profit)
At Little Canada in Toronto, visitors can pay to be “Littlized.” Guests step into the Littlization Station, where 128 cameras capture their image to create a 3D-printed miniature version of themselves. Visitors can choose to take their “Little Me” home or have it placed within the miniature scenes of Little Canada, becoming a permanent part of the exhibit. What a cool way to create a lasting connection between visitors and your museum.
The Wanger Family Fab Lab at the Griffin Museum of Science and Industry has a small-scale workshop where visitors can “dream up, design, and make items from practical to whimsical using cutting-edge software and equipment.” It’s an opportunity to design and create a souvenir and play with technology you may otherwise not have access to. Ticket purchases are required for entry to this part of the museum and summer camps are held in the lab, which helps the exhibit “pay for itself.” For those interested in specs, see what kind of equipment they have here.
Accessible Maps and Models
In 2015, “Touching the Prado” famously featured 3D-printed replicas of iconic paintings in the Prado collection, designed specifically for tactile exploration. In 2024, the Cincinnati Art Museum took a similar approach, collaborating with the Clovernook Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired to create 3D-printed replicas of sculptures for the “Accessible Expressions Ohio” exhibition.
A newly published paper explores the creation of the BentoMuseum, a 3D, layered interactive museum map for blind visitors. Here’s a little background:
The BentoMuseum builds on current museum efforts, introducing a novel interactive way for visitors to understand museum layouts before their visit. Through an iterative design process, the authors created a stackable 3D-printed physical model of a science museum to use before a visit to build a mental map of the space. Their design resembles a bento lunch box, where the floors stack on top of one another using magnets to quickly attach, and different textures on the bottom of each floor to differentiate them. When inspecting a floor, visitors can trace the layout of the exhibits and artifacts to learn the layout and plan their visit. To get more detailed information, visitors can place one of these floors on an iPad to hear audio feedback about certain areas as they touch them. The authors evaluated the BentoMuseum with 12 blind participants who used their final prototype in a local museum to build a mental model of the space and plan a route to tour areas they were interested in…
The BentoMuseum has the potential to unlock spaces people might not otherwise visit due to accessibility concerns. I was struck by the comment “The best thing is that I could explore independently without asking for help.” …
These ideas will inspire many to rethink visitor experience and preplanning approaches to make more spaces inclusive for visitors with diverse abilities. This paper has inspired my students to think more creatively about making physical spaces inclusive… (Source: Technical Perspective: An Accessible Solution to Unlock Museums)
Immersive Experience Potential
In 2022, the National Geographic Museum in Washington, D.C., took a big swing with “Beyond King Tut: The Immersive Experience” exhibition, which toured North America through May 2023. Because the original relics are only on display in Egypt, the museum worked with Massivit to create large-scale, 3D-printed recreation of Tutankhamun’s sarcophagus. While reviews of the overall experience suggest much room for improvement, it’s a bold application of 3D printing and a good example of what everyone in the sector talks about these days — how to fuse technology and storytelling to bring history to life in a way that resonates with contemporary audiences.
Side note: That wasn’t the first time King Tut and 3D printing shared headlines. You may recall back in 2014 when British artist Adam Lowe and team created a replica of Tutankhamun’s tomb to great effect:
Adam Lowe’s company Factum Arte used digital photography, 3D laser scanning and printers to precisely recreate the murals on the walls of the burial chamber, depicting scenes from the young pharaoh’s journey to the afterlife.
The replica tomb was so accurate that some Tutankhamun experts among the Egyptologists and dignitaries burst into tears while attending the opening in Luxor today.
“We are not talking virtual reality, it is a physical reality,” Mr. Lowe told The Independent from Egypt. “To have an emotional response to something you know to be a copy is an extraordinary moment.” (Source: Egypt Unveils Exact Replica of Tutankhamun’s Tomb Made With a 3D Printer)
It’s interesting (and possibly telling?) that despite the successful results of the project, we haven’t seen much of this type of application since.
Recommended read: Hungry for more? 3D Printing Artifacts & Exhibits: A Museum Guide was written in 2022 and dives into additional examples of 3D printing at museums, like the partnership between the Dutch Naturalis Biodiversity Center and the Japanese Dinosaur Museum on an actual-size replica of a Tyrannosaurus rex that was discovered in Montana. Or the recreation of long-destroyed sculptures at London’s Estorick Collection of Modern Italian Art — where visitors could view the life-size recreations and even purchase miniature 3D-printed versions in the gift shop.
