At the Innovation Center, 3D printing continues to be one of our most popular features. It bridges the digital and physical worlds while blending creative expression with technical skill, aligning perfectly with our mission to inspire, support, and showcase innovative and interdisciplinary work. While some students design their own objects, most make use of the generous online communities at sites like printables.com and thingiverse.com, where makers freely share their creations. In the spirit of giving back to these communities, we are excited to begin sharing our own original 3D models on these platforms as well.

Our first contribution is a favorite from the Innovation Center’s puzzle table that is technically not a puzzle: it is a mosaic building set of 24 colored triangles (four of each of six colors) that fit into a hexagon-shaped tray. There is no “correct solution” — instead, the fun comes from the freedom of creative expression, whether placing the triangles in a pattern or symmetric arrangement, or adding them randomly and watching new designs emerge. You can now download the full 3D model on printables.com, or even watch a 3D printing timelapse video of the set being created. We hope it sparks creativity elsewhere, as it does here in the Innovation Center!