Crowdfunding Program Gives More Schools Access to 3D Carving Machines
Chicago, IL (PRWEB) June 17, 2016 -- Inventables is announcing the pilot of a new crowdfunding program that will help elementary and secondary schools nationwide raise the funds for their own 3D carving machine. Building on last year’s pledge to donate 3D carving machines to a school in each of the 50 states, Inventables’ new program gives even more classrooms access to the tools and technology critical to hands-on STEM education.
“3D literacy is the future of design and manufacturing in the U.S. The unfortunate reality is too many schools lack the knowledge, resources and budget to access 3D tools and build curriculums around them,” said Zach Kaplan, CEO and founder, Inventables. “Through our crowdfunding program, Inventables is proud to play a small part in fostering STEM education and equipping students with the skills they’ll need for tomorrow’s jobs.”
Through the Inventables website, backers can pledge an amount of their choosing to schools participating in the crowdfunding program and help them raise the $2,000 needed for a tabletop 3D carving machine, called Carvey. Each school has a dedicated 30-day campaign page, where pledgers can browse sample student projects, read the stories of the teachers behind the campaigns, and connect directly with those teachers and students to learn more. Kicking off the pilot is St. Mark’s School in El Paso, Texas, where Makers Lab Teacher Veronica Herron is raising funds for a Carvey and additional materials to create a more collaborative, hands-on curriculum for her 500 students.
Inventables plans to launch an additional 25 crowdfunding campaigns through summer 2016 and expand the program to more schools in the fall after the pilot phase comes to a close. These crowdfunding campaigns are contributing to Inventables’ goal of putting a 3D carver in every U.S. school by the end of the decade. Students, parents and teachers can apply for their school to participate in the program using Inventables’ online form.
The pilot marks the start of the 2016 National Week of Making, June 17-23, a White House initiative to celebrate tinkerers developing creative solutions to today’s most important problems and to cultivate the next generation of problem solvers. The event builds on President Obama’s Nation of Makers initiative, an all-hands-on-deck call to make sure more students, entrepreneurs and Americans of all backgrounds have access to new technologies so they can design, build and manufacture anything.
Inventables answered that call in June 2015 when Kaplan visited the White House and pledged in a meeting with the President to donate a 3D carving machine to a school in every state. Since the launch and successful completion of the 50 States Program, students around the country have used the Carvey and X-Carve to explore digital manufacturing, carve new products and even establish businesses around those products after graduating.
"The President launched the Nation of Makers initiative to give more students, entrepreneurs and Americans of all ages access to the tools and spaces that can empower them to design and make just about anything," said Tom Kalil, Deputy Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. "It is great to see a growing number of organizations responding to the President's call to action."
Learn more about Inventables’ crowdfunding program and make a pledge today. For more information about the 50 States Program and to nominate a school in your area to receive their own 3D carving machine, visit https://www.inventables.com/50states.
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About Inventables
Inventables is igniting the digital manufacturing revolution with its 3D carving ecosystem. Their Easel
software is available as a free web application at http://www.easel.com. The Carvey and X-Carve 3D carvers work seamlessly with Easel, making it simple enough for beginners to start small, and powerful enough for independent manufacturers to start new ventures in the most effective and efficient way.
Note to editors: High resolution images are located in the Inventables Press Kit at
http://www.inventables.com/press.
Payal Shukla, Walker Sands Communications, +1 (312) 648-6006, [email protected]
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