Science City Now Has One of the Largest Installations of 3D Printers, Supporting Growing Demand for STEAM Education

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (August 4, 2015) — Ultimaker, one of the worlds leading manufacturers of 3D printers, based in the Netherlands, recently gifted nine new 3D printers valued at nearly $21,000, to the Maker Studio at Kansas City's Science Center, Science City.

The printers have been added to the existing six Ultimaker2 models currently utilized in the Maker Studio, bringing the overall total to 15. In addition to three more Ultimaker2's, the newly donated models include the Ultimaker2 Extended, a 30 centimeter tall printer designed for complex prints and Ultimaker2 Go, the company's smallest, lightweight printer. The generous donation will allow better support of STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math) education during walk-up workshops and demos, school field trips, professional development programs for teachers, special events such as Make48™ - the 48 hour invent-a-thon weekend scheduled for October 2-4 at Science City - and more.

"We are excited to bring our new Ultimaker 3D printers to the Maker Studio," Iris Smeekes, Ultimaker representative, said. "3D printers are an excellent new learning tool and now everyone that comes into the Maker Studio can experience this new technology."

"We couldn't be more grateful to Ultimaker for this tremendous gift," Luis Rodriguez, Maker Studio manager, said. "These easy-to-use and reliable machines will allow us to serve more children, adults, and families in the Greater Kansas City metro area. With these models, we not only have the ability to print items up to one foot tall but most importantly, because of their size, we gain the portability that will make it even easier to deliver and support Science City's hands-on programming."

Thanks to this donation, Science City now boasts having one of the largest installations of 3D printers in one education-focused, publically accessible location.

"Donations like these validate that companies all over the world have taken note of the Science Center's ability to deliver leading edge programming," Jerry Baber, executive vice president and COO of Union Station Kansas City Incorporated, said. "We can't thank Ultimaker enough for helping us promote STEAM education and entrepreneurship to the 200,000 annual Science City visitors and beyond."

For more information on the Ultimaker 3D printers, visit https://ultimaker.com/.

To make plans to visit Maker Studio, visit http://www.unionstation.org/sciencecity.

About Union Station Kansas City, Inc.
Union Station Kansas City is a historical landmark and civic asset renovated and reopened to the public in 1999. The organization, driven by its mission of science and history education and entertainment, hosts a variety of world-class traveling exhibits and annual community events and celebrations. Union Station is home to several permanent attractions, including Kansas Citys Science Center; the popular Model Railroad Experience; the Arvin Gottlieb Planetarium; the Regnier Extreme Screen Theatre, the regions largest screen 3D movie theater; H&R Block City Stage featuring live theater, and a selection of unique shops and restaurants. Union Station is also home to prominent area civic organizations and businesses. Visit www.unionstation.org for details.

About Ultimaker
Founded in 2011 by three Dutch makers who invented the original Ultimaker, the leading European 3D printer manufacturer has since received multiple global awards and positive industry product reviews. Most recently, the company was awarded best in shootout 2015 in the established Make Magazine and best Consumer Product at the 3D Printshow Global Awards 2014. Committed to making 3D printing better, faster and simpler, the Ultimaker is designed to print larger objects, while the 3D printer itself only occupies a small space on the desktop. Ultimaker strives to participate in the scene instead of being a corporate entity. As one of the most successful open source companies, Ultimaker works very closely with its community to create a personal fabrication revolution. For more information, please visit www.ultimaker.com.