Monica Scholberg at the Washington DC Outreach Event

On Sunday, April 16th, I went to the USA Science & Engineering Festival at the Washington Convention Center. I figured they had to have a lot of cool 3D printing stations, which there were!

http://www.usasciencefestival.org/2016-festival.html

The festival takes place every year, mostly aimed at kids who want to go into a math or science career. There were multiple conference rooms with rows of exhibits/stations and companies sponsoring learning activities. After we made our way to the “futuristic” technology portion, we were able to explore all of the 3D printing stations.

I went to four or five 3D exhibitions and talked to many representatives from the industry. One specific company, MakerGear, really stood out to me. The representative I talked to was a graduate from the University of Hawaii and majored in the engineering field (surprise, surprise). He explained the importance of buying industry-grade 3D printers instead of  consumer-made printers. I was able to see the different materials they were able to print, like steel and metal. He said the printers they sell are a little bit more expensive than the MakerGear printers, however they last much longer and are a lot more heavy-duty.

MakerGear’s website: http://www.makergear.com/

Another exhibit that stood out to me was one which visited schools and taught all-day classes on 3D printing for students. By the end of the day, each student builds a printer that they are able to take home with them (it’s a very pricey class). He explained the importance for kids to realize that they get to actually build the “thing” that prints all of these cool “things,” and, if they wish, they can take it apart and build it back together anytime they like.

3D printing is still a “new” technology, but it can be used for so many things in our everyday lives. Whether it’s entertainment, fixing a broken tool or part, or simply building something for a friend, we can all agree that it’s a super cool technology and there’s a lot more to explore. I picked up pamphlets and business cards if you wanted to check out any of the companies that participated in this year’s Science & Engineering Festival!

Here is a picture of the Washington Capitol being printed!