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Museums, art galleries, and cultural institutions are turning to 3D printing to increase visitor engagement, protect artwork and artifacts, and reduce costs.

The world's museums are back open after a long pandemic shutdown, and if we've learned one thing, it's that no virtual museum tour can replace seeing artifacts in person. This is why - in the first place - museums were created - to see and sometimes touch objects from the past.

Of course, not every urban natural history museum can have its own T-Rex. In fact, an entire T-Rex skeleton has never been found. Here, reconstructions and replicas have always played an important role. Exhibit designers have been carving, casting, molding, and shaping exhibits and replicas for centuries. 3D printing just makes it faster, more accessible, more accurate and cheaper.

The 3D Printing the Smithsonian exhibit featured prints of several artifacts that were chosen for their tactile qualities, as visitors will be able to touch them. (Source: Hermitage Museum and Gardens)

Along with these game-changing capabilities, 3D printing offers curators and museum directors increased flexibility to update, modify and change their exhibitions more often, attracting more frequent visitors. 3D printed replicas also offer the opportunity to create more interactive and tactile exhibits, without fear of damaging the originals or even expensive replicas. It can even bring back to life artifacts and art lost to fire or war.

Let's take a closer look at the benefits that museums gain from 3D printing and how they are applying it today.

Why museums 3D printing

Jorge Lopes, a researcher at the Pontifical Catholic University, holds a 3D print of a Greek artifact from the National Museum of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, which was destroyed by fire in 2018. Researchers have previously 3D scanned and 3D printed some of the most important objects of the institution. (Source: Ecns.cn)

Museums and their curators continue to choose 3D printing as the cost of 3D printers and 3D scanners decreases and the number of third-party 3D printing services increases. Technology is becoming more sophisticated, more precise, more affordable and easier to use.

REPLICA WITH FINE DETAILS

High on the list of reasons why curators and museum directors are turning to 3D printing is its ability to accurately reproduce, down to the smallest detail, almost any artistic, cultural or historical artifact from a digital model. Most often, the resulting replica is almost indistinguishable from the original in shape, but usually requires painting or finishing to add color. 3D printing cannot completely replace artists, but it speeds up their work.

QUICK PRODUCTION

Museums can significantly reduce the time it takes to go from idea to production and display by 3D printing prototypes and final objects. With faster exhibit production speeds, institutions can offer more exhibits more often and attract more visitors.

Visitors are encouraged to touch 3D-printed replicas of artifacts at the Smithsonian (Source: Hermitage Museum and Gardens)

ENHANCED EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES

With the ability to quickly produce prototypes and replicas of collections, museums can now take their artefacts (or replicas) on the road or send them to other museums, schools and universities, helping to bring learning and research to life in a more accessible and practical way .

CREATIVE ENGAGEMENT PROGRAMS

3D printed replicas offer the perfect balance between fine detail and low cost, opening up more opportunities to allow museum visitors to engage with artifacts, feel their texture, and handle them as they would in the past. This is usually not possible with rare antiques. Replicas, however, offer visitors the opportunity to experience the objects more intimately.

SAFER EXPLORATION OF OBJECTS

Another useful application for 3D printing is preservation and conservation. Rare artefacts that require special care and security can be digitally 3D scanned and reproduced, allowing research without the risk of damage or deterioration to the original artefact. In the case of artifacts damaged by war or weather, as well as artifacts with missing parts, as we will see in the dinosaur example below, "3D printing" can scan and reprint these individual parts to help artists and sculptors to reassemble the objects into their entirety. This high-value opportunity is another key feature that 3D printing offers to researchers and visitors alike, who have the opportunity to see the before and after of each model.

REPATRIATION OF AN ARTIFACT

Repatriation is another area of opportunity where 3D printing enables the exact reproduction of historical artifacts, allowing the original to be returned to its place of origin.

An exact replica of Michelangelo's David was 3D printed for display in the Italy Pavilion at the 2020 Dubai Expo (Source: Italy Pavilion Expo2020)

The challenges of 3D printing in museums

While these benefits offer tremendous value to museum directors, staff, and visitors, 3D printing has several drawbacks that could influence your decision to use it, namely in the areas of copyright, attribution, and authenticity.

Although most museum visitors cannot tell an original from a replica, they still want to know what they are looking at. Some visitors see the replicas as outdated, soulless and perhaps even inauthentic, others see them as artful entertainment. The Museum of Ethnology in Hamburg, for example, closed one of its exhibits when it was discovered that their clay soldiers "from China" were not originals of millennia.

Reproductions also pose the challenge of proper copyright and authorship. Who owns these copies, the reproduction rights to the originals, and the copyright to their images?

EXAMPLES OF 3D PRINTING IN MUSEUM EXHIBITS

Let's turn to real-world examples of 3D printing on museum walls. In exploring the following examples of museums actively embracing 3D printing, we'll look at some of their leading benefits, the problems they solve, and the opportunities they create.

3D printed T-Rex replica

The Dutch Biodiversity Center Naturalis has its own 3D printing lab and produced this replica of their T-Rex using two 3D printers (Source: Naturalis)

Dinosaurs may have roamed the Earth millions of years ago, but 3D printing allows us to relive their lives and their fascinatingly huge skeletons in museums today, such as the Netherlands' Naturalis Biodiversity Center and Japan's Nagasaki Dinosaur Museum. Together, these institutions partnered with the Leiden School of Instrument Makers (LIS) to reproduce a life-size replica of Tyrannosaurus rex, which was discovered in 2013 in the US state of Montana. Since everything was well preserved except for the dinosaur's left leg, skeletal legs and arm bones, the research team used 3D scanning and printing technologies to recreate these body parts to build a complete replica of the 'Trix'.

Using the original fossil, 3D modelers and anatomists worked to scan every square inch of the Trix at Naturalis and LIS and ended up with an impression of a skeleton that weighs more than 600 pounds and consists of 50 3D printed individual parts .

Due to the global pandemic, the Dutch teams were forced to set up their reconstruction site in the entrance hall of Naturalis, an award-winning natural history museum and biodiversity research centre. To practice for the Dinosaur Museum in Japan, they assembled the first-ever replica of the original Tyrannosaurus rex in the atrium with a slow-motion video camera that was shared with the public. Constructed in a forward-leaning attack position, the team drilled holes through the bones and skeletal parts directly into the metal frame, a technique that prevents damage or deterioration of the original fossil. An agreement signed in 2019 between Naturalis and the Nagasaki Dinosaur Museum made the project a reality, and now museum visitors in Japan have the opportunity to see the only Trix copy outside the Netherlands in Nagasaki.

This Trix project serves as a great example of the power and potential of 3D printing to facilitate natural history conservation, research and education, and the ability to reach museums and exhibits around the world using nearly indistinguishable replicas.

The Hudson Museum is bringing back artifacts from the 19th century

Hudson Museum Toad Clan helmet and 3D printed replica before painting (Source: Hudson Museum)

At the University of Maine and the Hudson Museum, a team of composite artists and research engineers are implementing 3D printing technologies to introduce a "proof of concept" for replicating collections, repatriation and educational purposes. As part of the project Technology and Tradition: Shaping Local Collections for the Future, this collaboration centers around the conservation and repatriation of a 19th century frog clan helmet - a cultural heritage artefact dating from the late nineteenth century - which was originally belonged to the Tlingit and Haida Indian tribes of Alaska.

A team of engineers and artists is leading the effort to 3D scan, digitize and print a replica of the Native American artifact. To make the replica look as close to the original as possible, a team of artists will also collaborate to match the paint and surface treatments.

As part of a larger collection of Native American artifacts, this project exemplifies "a model for responsible preservation and ethical repatriation," the university says, allowing the original Frog Clan helmet to be used while allowing the Hudson Museum to display a replica exhibit about these , who are interested in learning about cultural heritage sites. With permission granted for the replica by the Central Alaska Tribal Council, this 3D project demonstrates "the potential to facilitate the return of the artifact to the local community and allow the Hudson Museum to preserve the culturally important replica for educational purposes." The frog helmet replica project, including videos and photos of the 3D printing processes, will be available at the Hudson Museum in July 2022.

Lost sculptures restored

3D print and digital file of the sculpture "Unique Forms of Continuity in Space" by Umberto Boccion (Source: Estorick Collection of Modern Italian Art)

The destruction in 1927 of a number of plaster and mixed media sculptures by Futurist artist Umberto Boccioni was a tragic loss to avant-garde art, according to London's Estorick Collection of Modern Italian Art.

To enable modern audiences to touch these lost masterpieces for the first time, digital artists Matt Smith and Anders Rådén recreated four of Boccioni's destroyed works using a combination of vintage photographic material and 3D printing. In addition to the full-size 3D prints, the 2019 exhibition Umberto Boccioni: Recreating the Lost Sculptures included recordings of 3D printing and digital sculpting, as well as a number of sketches and working drawings for final prints.

The Estorick Collection even sold 12.5cm 3D prints of Boccinoini's works in their gift shop for £19.99.

3D printed map of the museum

The Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam offers a detailed 3D printed scale model of both the interior and exterior of the building at the entrance (Credit: Petra Dorenstouter / Van Gogh Museum)

In the entrance hall of the popular Van Gogh Museum in the center of Amsterdam is a 3D printed model of the building and its maze of rooms, exhibits and walkways. What is so special about this model? It is a simple but revolutionary harbinger of a new technology invading the museums of today and tomorrow: a new technology that improves access, preserves culture and educates a wider audience. The Van Gogh Museum is the first in the Netherlands to present a so-called 3D printed "tactile model", a large-scale miniature replica of the entire building - made by local artists in collaboration with the Bartimeus Fund and the Accessibility Foundation - to help visitors orient themselves during of his exploration of Van Gogh's nineteenth-century art world, paintings, and European life.

For the first time, visitors can now plan their trip by seeing and touching the entire museum in one place, getting a 'down-to-earth view' inside without having to flip through a confusing brochure or a long brochure full of details or hard-to-read information . Another major benefit of this innovation is the narrowing of communication gaps in educational and cultural settings often encountered by the visually impaired.

3D-printed museum models like these—models that include 3D replicas along with Braille and visual markers—allow blind or partially-blind visitors to more skillfully navigate their way around before embarking on their exploration of the past. In this exciting space of 3D printing technologies and the ever-changing world of art, culture and the sacred places that preserve them, this miniature museum model represents the tip of the iceberg for the applications and possibilities of 3D printing.

Attracting over two million visitors annually in 2019 – before the pandemic, the Van Gogh Museum is one of the most popular destinations in Amsterdam, taking its visitors through time and space into the artistic world of the famous Dutch artist. For years, visitors have referred to brochures and signs on the floors and walls for guidance, but before entering today, they now have the opportunity to explore the building with a tactile 3D printed model of the grounds.

The building's architecture and layout can now be experienced by all visitors, including those who are blind and partially sighted, allowing them to quickly navigate walkways, elevators and pedestrian routes before their visit. "Thanks to the support and expertise of the Bartimeus Fund and the Accessibility Foundation, we have been able to make the Van Gogh Museum a little more accessible again," says Emilie Gordenker, director of the Van Gogh Museum. "We hope to continue to develop in this area in the coming years so that we can offer everyone who wants an unforgettable museum experience."

The 3D tactile model is located in the central entrance hall of the museum and is available to all guests. "It was special to work on these tactile models," says Séverine Kas, an advisor to the Accessibility Foundation. "The sometimes difficult orientation of the museum can often be an obstacle for blind or partially sighted visitors. Thanks to the new tactile model, an overview and understanding of buildings can be created with two hands, and the sighted visitor can now see at a glance how the building works.”


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