Decorate Your Space By 3D Printing The World’s Greatest Artwork

Founded with a mission to “bring tangible heritage to the masses,” a new platform called Scan the World is offering 3D scans of more than 17,000 pieces of art available for free download. Over the past few years, we have seen more museums offer free digital access to their collections, so this is clearly part of a larger shift.

What is interesting here, though, is the idea of making history “tangible.” 3D scanning is transforming paleoanthropology too, another case of helping humans visualize, study and experience history through real and physically recreated objects. In a time when travel has gotten harder and more education has gone virtual, it’s hard to overestimate just how important this really is.