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Challenge Closed

Deadline: Aug 16, 2015 11:59 PM EDT

Total Entries: 186

Thingiversity Math Challenge: Build A Castle

Make your own 3D printed sand castle molds and show off your mathematics at the beach! Build a sand castle from geometric shape molds, make a tessellation mold to add some style, or even make your own sigil mold to proudly mark your castle.

Math connections: Geometry, mold design, tessellations.

Prizes

First Place

The first-place winner of this Challenge will receive a MakerBot Replicator Desktop 3D Printer and have their design Featured on Thingiverse.

In addition, the first-place winner will have the opportunity to choose one of ten MakerBot-selected schools to receive a 3D printer package of its own.

Second Place

The second-place winner will receive two spools of MakerBot PLA filament and have their design Featured on Thingiverse.

Honorable Mention

One or more Honorable Mention winners will have their designs featured in a Collection of Honorable Mention Designs on Thingiverse.

How to Enter

  • Design something! You can participate in this Challenge whether you're a 3D-modeling expert or an absolute beginner. In fact, we especially encourage entries from people that are beginners! See the 3D Design Tips below for information about how you can get started with a few free, easy 3D-design programs.
  • Post your design to Thingiverse. You can modify your design anytime up until the August 15 deadline. See the Challenge Entry Tips for ideas on making your entry as effective as possible.
  • Include the challenge tag. To be considered for this Challenge, your Thing must include the tag #BuildACastle.
  • Be a mathematician! Tell us about the mathematics you used, and show everyone the beauty of the numbers, patterns, or geometric figures you incorporated into your design. Consider including design instructions, math facts, and photos of your molds together with the sand creations you made with them, whether at the beach or at home..
  • Get your school involved. In addition to receiving a printer of their own, challenge winners will choose one of ten MakerBot-selected schools to receive a printer, as well. Encourage your school to post to the Our School Needs a 3D Printer! Thingiverse Group to be in the running.

    Challenge Entry Tips: Increase your chances of winning!

  • Design iteratively. Use all of the time available to you. Don’t be afraid to upload new and different versions of your work.
  • Tell the story of your design. Take time to write a good Description and Instructions for your model on Thingiverse. How did you design your model? What did you have to redesign along the way? What does your model do, and why is it cool? What settings do you recommend for 3D printing your model?
  • Make it 3D-printable. While owning a 3D printer is not a requirement for entry, printing and documenting printability will go a long way toward winning. You might consider getting your design 3D printed locally at a service such as 3DHubs so you can test it and take photos.
  • Take good photos to show off your work. Photograph your design from every angle and upload all of your best, most informative pics.
  • Consider a video. Sometimes a video speaks louder than a photo, especially if your design moves or interacts with things. You can upload a video clip to the Thing page for your model by posting the model to YouTube and then including the link to that video in the Description. The video will then automatically be included in the Gallery for your Thing.
  • 3D Design Tips: How to get started...

  • Design on an iPad starting from 2-dimensional drawings with MakerBot Printshop. If you can draw a picture, then you can make a 3D design with the ShapeMaker feature in the MakerBot Printshop iPad app. Just draw, take a photo of your drawing, and extrude to make a 3D model. Then use MakerBot Desktop to export your model as an .stl file.
  • Design online with Tinkercad. If you're just getting started then Tinkercad is a great place to start, and it's especially friendly for kids. Tinkercad is a free online in-browser 3D design program with a drag-and-drop interface and Lessons to help you learn the ropes.
  • Design by scanning with 123D Catch. Some 3D models start with scans of actual real-life objects. With 123D Catch you can use your cellphone or iPad to take pictures around an object that are then stitched together into a 3D model. After scanning you'll have to analyze your model, repair scan defects, and possibly remix or add things with a program like MeshMixer.
  • Design in code with OpenSCAD. By writing just a few lines of simple code you can make 3D models with the free 3D modeling language OpenSCAD. OpenSCAD is extremely accessible, if you've never coded before. There are lots of tutorials on YouTube that can help you get started. It's easier than you think, and will allow you to make customizable designs that you can include in the MakerBot Customizer!
  • Or use any program you like! To enter this Challenge you can design with any program that can export an .stl file. Some of the many other free design programs that you might like to try are MeshMixer, 123D Design, Sculptris, Sketchup, Morphi for iPad, or Blender.
  • Official Rules

    OFFICIAL RULES as defined by MakerBot Industries, LLC (“Sponsor”).

    THINGIVERSITY SUMMER S.T.E.A.M. CHALLENGES: Thingiversity Summer Science Challenge: “Make It Float”, Thingiversity Summer Technology Challenge: “Light it Up”, Thingiversity Summer Engineering Challenge: “Catch the Wind”, Thingiversity Summer Art Challenge: “See the World”, Thingiversity Summer Math Challenge: “Build a Castle” (each challenge individually a “Contest” and collectively “Contests”).

    CONTEST ENTRY DATES: Contest start date & time and end date & time as outlined on website is Friday, 06/12/2015 at 12:00AM EST to Sunday, 8/16/2015 at 11:59PM EST. All entries must be received no later than 8/16/2015 at 11:59PM EST.

    WHO MAY ENTER: Contest submissions are only open to Thingiverse Account Holders who are 13 and over at the time of entry (“Contestant” or “Contestants”). Contestants are subject to all notices posted online, including but not limited to, the MakerBot Terms of Use (MakerBot Industries, LLC). Employees and their immediate families (spouse, parent, child, sibling and their respective spouses, regardless of where they reside) or those living in the same household (whether or not related) of Sponsor, and their respective parents, affiliates, subsidiaries, prize suppliers, distributors and advertising and promotion agencies (collectively, “Contest Parties”) are not eligible to enter or win. Contestants under 18 years old must obtain written consent of a parent or legal guardian in order to be eligible to receive any prizes. Please see the “ACKNOWLEDGMENT” section in these Official Rules for details. Contest is subject to all federal, state and local laws and regulations and is void where is prohibited, taxed, or restricted by law. Residents of the province of Quebec in Canada, Cuba, Iran, Syria, North Korea, Sudan, Myanmar (Burma), or other individuals restricted by U.S. export controls and sanctions are ineligible to participate. The Contest is void in these countries and where prohibited or restricted by U.S. or local law.

    CONTEST OBJECTIVE: The objective of the Contest is to invite Thingiverse Account Holders to create a 3D design based on the specific STEAM topic of the Contest (“Contest-Topic Design”) that fits within a build volume of a MakerBot Replicator Desktop 3D Printer (5th Generation) or MakerBot Replicator 2 Desktop 3D Printer (“Entry” or “Entries”). All valid Entries must include a description of how and why the submitted Contest-Topic Design is relevant to the specific STEAM topic of the Contest.

    CONTEST ENTRY: To enter, click “Enter Challenge” on the Contest’s click-through landing page and upload the Contest-Topic Design with one of the following hashtags that corresponds to a Contest and the Entry: #MakeItFloat, #LightItUp, #CatchTheWind, #SeeTheWorld, or #BuildACastle. For purposes of these Official Rules, “receipt” of entry occurs when Thingiverse’s server records the entry information resulting from Contestants’ entry being received. Any automated computer receipt (such as one confirming delivery of entry) does not constitute proof of actual receipt by Sponsor for purposes of these Official Rules. Sponsor reserves the right to disqualify any entry for any reason, in its sole and absolute discretion.

    JUDGING: The Sponsor will select a first, second, and third place winner (“Winner” or “Winners”) based on the following criteria: creativity, printability of the Contest-Topic Design from a MakerBot Replicator Desktop 3D Printer (5th Generation) or MakerBot Replicator 2 Desktop 3D Printer and relevance of the Entry to the STEAM topic of the Contest. The odds of winning depend upon the number of entries received. In the event of any ties, Winners will be determined based in the Sponsor’s sole discretion. In all cases, Sponsor’s decision is final and binding.

    WINNER NOTIFICATION: Winners will be determined after each Contest’s specific end date and announced on the Sponsor’s Blog (http://www.makerbot.com/blog) as follows: on Saturday, July 25, 2015 for the “Make It Float” Contest, on Saturday, August 1, 2015 for the “Light It Up” Contest, on Saturday, August 8, 2015 for the “Catch The Wind” Contest, on Saturday, August 15, 2015 for the “See The World” Contest, and on Saturday, August 22, 2015 for the “Build A Castle” Contest.

    PRIZE(S): The first place Winner will: (a) receive a MakerBot Replicator Desktop 3D Printer (Fifth Generation Model) valued at $ $2,899.00 + tax USD, (b) have his or her Contest-Topic Design featured on www.thingiverse.com, and (c) the opportunity to participate in a future giveaway event of Sponsor. The second place Winner will: (a) receive two (2) spools of MakerBot PLA filament, with a retail value of up to $100.00 + tax and (b) have his or her Contest-Topic Design featured on www.thingiverse.com. The third place Winner will have his or her Contest-Topic Design featured as an honorable mention on www.thingiverse.com. Winners are solely responsible for all expenses, costs or fees associated with acceptance and/or use of the prize, including without limitation, all taxes (if any). A Winner is not a recipient of a prize until Sponsor has verified him or her as a Winner. Sponsor will be deemed to have awarded the prize to a Winner after it has been formally transferred and such Winner will then assume full responsibility for the prize(s). When shipping overseas, Winners are responsible for any and all fees associated with value added tax (VAT), taxes or customs. All prize selections are at Sponsor’s sole discretion.

    ACKNOWLEDGEMENT: By entering in this Contest: - Contestants agree and accept these Official Rules. - Entry must be the creative work of the Contestant and must not infringe upon the copyrights, trademarks, rights of privacy, publicity or other intellectual property or other rights of any person and must not violate any law. Contestant assumes all responsibilities and consequences if submission is found to be otherwise. Sponsor will not be held responsible if legal action results from public exhibition. - Contestant acknowledges that MakerBot will use 3D-printed prints of the winning Contest-Topic Designs and images of the winning 3D-printed prints of the winning Contest-Topic Design for promotional and commercial purposes, including, but not limited to, events, marketing material, retail store displays, and use by distributors and resellers of products of Sponsor. - Contestant waives any right to inspect or approve finished photographs, audio, video, multimedia, or advertising recordings and copy or printed matter or computer generated scanned image and other electronic media that may be used in conjunction therewith or to approve the eventual use that it might be applied. - Winning constitutes permission (except where prohibited by law) to use Winner’s name, images, hometown, likeness, prizes won, stories, audio, video and photograph (all at Sponsor’s discretion) for future advertising, exhibition, publicity in any and all media including, without limitation, cable and broadcast television and the Internet, now or hereafter devised throughout the world in perpetuity, without additional compensation, notification or permission. - After the winning notifications, written consent of acceptance of these Official Rules for any Winner under the age of 18 must be given via electronic mail to [email protected] or via regular mail to Sponsor’s address listed in these official rules (“Sponsor Address”) within fifteen (15) business days, after which consent will be confirmed by Sponsor. The written consent must contain: (a) name, (b) regular mailing address, (c) telephone number, and (d) email address for the parent or guardian granting consent for the minor. Except where prohibited by law, parent or guardian of a Winner may be required to sign and return an Affidavit of Eligibility and Liability and Publicity Release and provide any additional information that may be required by Sponsor. If required, parent or guardian of a Winner must return all such required documents via fax (or as otherwise instructed) within forty-eight (48) hours and via U.S. Mail within seven (7) days following attempted notification or such Winner will be deemed to have forfeited the prize and another Contestant may be selected based on the judging criteria described herein.

    SUBMISSION PROBLEMS: Sponsor is not responsible for lost, misdirected, damaged, altered, garbled, incorrect, incomplete or delayed entries; all of which will be void. Additionally, Sponsor is not responsible for problems related to technical malfunctions of electronic equipment, computer online systems, computer hardware or software failures, or failure of any entry to be received by Sponsor on account of any technical problems, including miscommunication or connection failure, which may limit a Contestant’s ability to participate in this Contest. Sponsor reserves the right to modify or terminate the Contest in the event it becomes technically impaired, and to cancel or suspend the Contest in its entirety should unauthorized intervention corrupt the administration of the Contest and, if terminated, at Sponsor’s discretion, determine the Winner using all non-suspect, eligible entries received up to time of cancellation using the judging procedure outlined above. In the event of a dispute regarding entries received from multiple users having the same email account, the authorized subscriber of the email account at the time of entry will be deemed to be the Contestant and must comply with these Official Rules. Authorized subscriber is the natural person who is assigned the email address by the online service provider. Sponsor reserves the right at its sole discretion to disqualify any individual it finds to be tampering with the operation of this Contest.

    DATA PRIVACY: Data privacy and protection is very important to Sponsor. The privacy practices of this Contest are governed by the Thingiverse.com Privacy Policy and the privacy provision in the MakerBot.com Terms of Service.

    INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY ASSIGNMENT OF RIGHTS: Each design shall be ascribed a Secondary License as stipulated in the MakerBot Terms of Use to allow for Sponsor’s use for marketing and promotional purposes. Sponsor shall have the exclusive authority to remove or retain entries and to repost on any of Sponsor’s websites or social media sites. By submitting an entry, Contestant acknowledges and agrees that Sponsor may obtain many submissions under this Contest and that such entries may be similar or identical in format to others submitted under this Contest and/or other contests staged and/or sponsored by Sponsor, and waive any and all claims Contestant may have had, may have, and/or may have in the future, and that any composition or design accepted, reviewed and/or used by Sponsor (or its respective designees) may be similar to his/her entry. Contestant acknowledges and agrees that Sponsor does not have now, nor shall have in the future, any duty or liability, direct or indirect, vicarious, contributory, or otherwise, with respect to the infringement or protection of any copyright in and to Contestant’s entry.

    LIMITATION OF LIABILITY: By entering and/or accepting prize, Contestants and Winners agree to hold and assign Sponsor and its promotional partners, directors, officers, and employees harmless for liability, damages, or claims for injury or loss to any person or property, relating to, in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, participation in this Contest, the acceptance and/or subsequent use or misuse or condition of any of the prizes awarded, or claims based on publicity rights, defamation, or invasion of privacy. Under no circumstances will Contestants be permitted to obtain awards for, and Contestants hereby waives all rights to claim, punitive, incidental or consequential damages, or any other damages, including attorneys’ fees, and Contestant (or, if an eligible minor, his/her parent or legal guardian) further waives all rights to have damages multiplied or increased.

    CHOICE OF LAW: All issues and questions concerning the construction, validity, interpretation and enforceability of these Official Rules, or the rights and obligations of Contestants and Sponsor in connection with this Contest, shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the substantive laws of the State of New York, USA without regard to New York choice of law rules.

    SEVERABILITY: If any provision of these Official Rules is found to be invalid or unenforceable by a court of competent jurisdiction or appointed arbitrator, such determination shall in no way affect the validity or enforceability of any other provision herein.

    WINNERS LIST: Winners will be announced at http://www.makerbot.com/blog as follows: on Friday, July 24, 2015 for the “Make It Float” Contest, on Friday, July 31, 2015 for the “Light It Up” Contest, on Friday, August 7, 2015 for the “Catch The Wind” Contest, on Friday, August 14, 2015 for the “See The World” Contest, and on Friday, August 21, 2015 for the “Build A Castle” Contest.

    SPONSOR ADDRESS: MakerBot Industries, LLC, One MetroTech Center, 21st Floor, Brooklyn, NY 11201