WH launches contest for 3D printed ornaments

The White House is hosting a 3D printing contest to see who can design the best holiday ornament. 

The contest will run through Nov. 10 and only requires contestants to submit a design rather than create and print out their entry, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy said Thursday, announcing the contest. 

{mosads}”We need your help to create the first 3D-printed ornaments that will deck the halls of the White House,” said a blog posted to the White House website. 

The White House is partnering with the website Instructables, which will select up to eight winning designs, print and deliver them to the White House. Some of the winning entries will be hung in the White House and put in a collection at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History. 

Officials are using the effort to promote science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education and advanced manufacturing in the United States. The administration hosted its first “maker faire” earlier this year and in years past has promoted an institute for “additive manufacturing” in Youngstown, Ohio.

“Once a technology that was incredibly expensive and used primarily for industrial applications, 3D printers are now available for about the cost of a laptop, and in some cases even less,” the White House said. “3D printing is now being used across a broad range of fields including biomedical, health care, fashion, food, engineering, automotive, and more.”

The White House and others are promoting additive manufacturing and 3D printing as a boon for U.S. manufacturing.

However, the new technology has also stirred controversy. Some Democrats last year called for covering 3D-printed guns in legislation banning undetectable firearms. The bill was finally extended without closing loopholes for 3D weapons.

— This post was corrected at 5:10 p.m. The contest runs through Nov. 10.