How 3D printing is bringing the past back-to-life

EVER wanted to own a priceless artefact or know what a supernova feels like? See how one museum is bringing history to the future and your home using 3D printing.

A woolly mammoth skeleton is just one on the many museum pieces made available for you to download and actually hold using a ...

THE Smithsonian Institution is bringing history into the future by breaking its artefacts out of the glass cabinets and into homes using 3D printing.

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As reported by Mashable, the world's largest museum and research complex is offering the chance for anyone to actually hold and own its significant pieces of interest from anywhere in the world by creating 3D replicas ready for download.

Artefacts such as Amelia Earhart's flight suit, a woolly mammoth, a supernova and the Wright brothers' Flyer have all been scanned and digitised by the X3D project in a move that sees the purveyors of history catapult itself into the future.

The idea is to reach a whole new audience, for new generations to explore the pieces using 3D software and to make such objects accessible for those who cannot travel to the museums in Washington, D.C., and New York City.

The 3D-program director, Günter Waibel, emphasised to Mashable the importance of sharing these artefacts:

"No technology is ever going to replace the feeling of seeing an original artefact in person. But this technology gives us more ways to learn about our collection and tell our stories in new ways to more than just museum visitors."

3D printing is gaining huge amounts of momentum at the moment and looks set to be one of the big tech trends next year. When prices of 3D printers fall and begin to enter homes there will be a significant change in consumer habits.