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NAMII Congratulates Youngstown State University’s McDonough Museum of Art and AST2 on the Success of the 3D Printing Exhibit

August 19, 2013 | Categories: America Makes News

Youngstown, Ohio— August 19, 2013. NAMII, the National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute, driven by the National Center for Defense Manufacturing and Machining (NCDMM), proudly extends it congratulations to the McDonough Museum of Art on the campus of Youngstown State University (YSU) on the immense success of its unprecedented exhibition, Re-Shaping Ideas, Ingenuity in 3D Technology.

“Led by the McDonough and curated by Director Leslie Brothers, the free 3D exhibit provided a unique opportunity to introduce and educate the local community about additive manufacturing and 3D printing technologies in an incredibly artistic and interactive manner,” said NAMII Director and NCDMM Vice President Ed Morris. “We remain honored that NAMII could contribute to this important exhibit and collaborate with both the McDonough and AST2. Moreover, we are delighted that the exhibit made such an impact on those visitors who experienced it. On behalf of all of us at NAMII and NCDMM, we extend our congratulations to Leslie and the entire staff at the McDonough and AST2 for envisioning such a creative and effective way to present additive manufacturing and 3D printing technologies to the community.”

The exhibit, which opened on Friday, June 14 and concluded on August 2, 2013, gave more than 2,000 visitors a hands-on understanding of 3D printing and additive manufacturing. NAMII was proud to join the McDonough Museum of Art Youngstown State University’s Center for Contemporary Art and NAMII member, AST2 – Applied Systems and Technology Transfer, in organizing the exhibition.

“AST2 was honored to be a co-organizer with the McDonough and NAMII in the highly-successful ‘Ingenuity in 3D Technology’ exhibit,” said Jack A. Scott, President, AST2. “Visitors came from the local area and as far as China during the course of the show, validating the excitement and broad and growing interest in the transformative potential of additive manufacturing, and in particular, 3D printing.”

The exhibit was divided into four galleries. Three galleries covered the past, present, and future of 3D printing presented in text, image, and video. The fourth gallery was called “Innovation Creation Space,” featuring a hands-on 3D printing lab, which functioned as an extension of AST2’s Inventor Cloud Program. Staffed by AST2 personnel, the lab allowed visitors to directly interact with additive manufacturing technology and 3D printing equipment by enabling them to access a template file for a gear, customize it, and print it out. Each printed gear was then added to a wall in the exhibit, which when activated all the gears worked together, creating a functional yet artistic display.

“From children to senior citizens, all were amazed and engaged by the technology that allowed them to customize a gear and turn their creations into reality in AST2’s Innovation Creation Space within the exhibit,” added Mr. Scott. “It also was incredibly rewarding to hear from educators, students, and parents who wanted to know how to get 3D printing and education into their schools. AST2 is proud to offer programs like INVENTORcloud and the Discovery Learning Program, which provide integrated curriculum and 3D technology programs to grades 3 through 12 and beyond to address this interest.”

Darrell Wallace, Ph.D., NAMII Deputy Director of Workforce and Educational Outreach, concurs that the hands-on lab in the exhibit was tremendously successful.

“It was a great honor for NAMII to have been involved in this unique exhibit as it engaged a wide range of visitors and exposed and educated them to the capabilities and the potential of additive manufacturing,” added Dr. Wallace. “Best of all, thanks to the generosity of AST2, the inclusion of the hands-on 3D printing lab elevated the exhibit to another level. Visitors left with not only a better understanding of additive manufacturing, but also a true excitement for it because they had direct contact with the technology in the lab.”

According to Ms. Brothers, the idea for the Re-Shaping Ideas, Ingenuity in 3D Technology Exhibit was conceived a year ago upon the announcement that NAMII would be based inYoungstown.

“Upon learning that NAMII would be established in downtownYoungstown, we quickly realized that people in our region may not have a real understanding of additive manufacturing and 3D printing,” explained Ms. Brothers. “We thought it was an amazing opportunity to introduce additive manufacturing technologies to the community and provide a basic understanding of its capabilities, the broad range of industry applications, and most significantly, the ways in which it is already transforming our world. We knew we wanted to gather a group of collaborators that would each contribute differently to the project.

“I am certain all our goals were achieved based on the enormous success of the exhibit with approximately 2,000 people visiting the exhibition and participating in the 3D printing lab,” continued Ms. Brothers. “For all of us at the McDonough, we couldn’t be more thrilled with the success of the exhibit and we are grateful to NAMII, AST2, and YSU’s STEM program for their contributions to it.”

The McDonough Museum of Art is located at 525 Wick Ave.on the campus of YSU in Youngstown, Ohio. Hours are Tuesdays through Saturdays, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. (closed on major holidays). For more information on upcoming exhibits, call 330-941-1400 or visit www.mcdonoughmuseum.ysu.edu.