Artists come to the Met every day to be inspired, discovering visual and technical solutions in works from every corner of the world, ranging from ancient times to the present day. They might attend a program, sketch from objects, or create their own copies of original paintings, as they have done since 1872 when the Met first allowed artists to re-create works of art on display.

Today, a small group of artists from the MakerBot community head to the Met with laptop satchels slung across our backs, clutching duffle bags of still cameras, spools of plastic, and Kapton tape. Working with a team at the Met that includes curators, digital archivists, and experts to provide context and inspiration for their selections, they will study, capture, and recreate pieces from the Met’s vast collection of art and artifacts. And if their meticulous planning and backbreaking training in Autodesk's 123D Catch and an armory of modeling and sculpting tools pays off, they will walk out of the Museum on Saturday with replicas of priceless works of art and unique derivates, printed on The Replicator, that they will be able to share with the world via Thingiverse.