View a gallery of 3D printed clothing

Explore a library of data files for 3D printing

Data files are organized by category, including gadgets, learning, and fashion, with most available in .stl format, which is native to computer-aided design software, and presliced. Some files are also available in .3mf, an open-source file format developed as a universal standard for high-fidelity 3D printing.

View a timeline of 3D printing technology through 2019

The first working 3D printing device was invented in 1983 and utilized stereolithography, a process in which a laser triggers a chemical reaction that hardens liquid resin. Powder-based laser sintering technology was patented in 1987, with metal-based powders first being used for 3D printing in 1997.

The 2026 Met Gala celebrated an exhibition exploring fashion's relationship to the body

Each year, the Met Gala draws attention for its star-studded red carpet and flashy outfits. What's less known is that the event is the primary fundraiser for the Met's Costume Institute, which houses over 33,000 objects spanning seven centuries. For 2026's exhibit "Costume Art," curators paired existing artworks with corresponding garments to show a rich and varied history of fashion and identity.

Chip-based 3D printers can be pocket-sized and involve no moving parts

Researchers have demonstrated a proof-of-concept version of a chip-based 3D printer that emits visible light onto light-sensitive resin to construct solid shapes. The technology may provide a portable, low-cost solution for future, small-scale fabrication needs.

Prosthetics and orthotics have been 3D printed to improve the lives of animals

Shells for hermit crabs, wheelchairs for guinea pigs and dogs, and horseshoes for improved running performance have been created using 3D printers. Other artificial body parts made using this technology include a jaw for a loggerhead turtle, a beak for a toucan, and a tail for an American alligator.

Objects can be 3D printed with light by projecting 2D computerized tomography (CT) scans onto rotating cylinders of resin, which solidify upon exposure.

Why grunge fashion lasted longer than its music

Although grunge musicians largely resisted the fashion world's overtures, the style associated with grunge—thrifted shirts, combat boots, loose-fitting flannels—continues to appear on runways and in photo shoots, with fashion icons like Rihanna, Miley Cyrus, and Gigi Hadid often sporting the look.

Watch Apple Watch cases be 3D printed from titanium powder

Apple Watch Ultra 3 cases are 3D printed entirely from recycled, aerospace-grade titanium powder using lasers to fuse particles. Over 400 metric tons of raw titanium were saved in 2025, with two watches fabricated from the same amount of raw material that would have previously been used to make one.

Explore a gallery of DALL-E creations

OpenAI's text-to-image generator can create content in a wide range of image styles based on simple prompts. Its utility has also given rise to an organic, passionate user base who employ the tool both for fun and for professional purposes.

A fictional glimpse into the future of AR

Hyper-Reality is a project that presents a provocative and kaleidoscopic new vision of the future, where physical and virtual realities have merged, and the city is saturated in media. Watch this six-minute video to experience the vision.

Massive 3D printers have been used to build homes by stacking layers of 'concrete toothpaste,' a fire-resistant material that effectively insulates against outside noise.

The bestselling visual art mediums, visualized

Fine art is a particularly appealing alternative investment for many—but it's also a pretty broad term. This data visualization shows which fine art mediums sold the best in 2024. For instance, paintings accounted for about 59% of all fine art dealer sales that year, whereas sculptures accounted for roughly 15%. See the full picture here.

Woven City at the base of Mount Fuji in Japan

The Woven City at the base of Mount Fuji in Japan is a ‘living laboratory’ for new technologies. It is being developed by Toyota subsidiary, Woven Planet, and will be the world’s first programmable city.

The role of textiles in South Asian art

Textiles play an essential role in the religious traditions of the Indian subcontinent, acting as portable shrines that can relay important allegories and depict spiritual iconography. This primer from Smarthistory breaks down how imagery is used on these textiles and helpfully provides high-quality images, allowing you to witness their beauty for yourself.

View a collection of glass sculptures of corals threatened by fishing and deep-sea mining

In "Depicting Dark Waters," British sculptural model maker Alice Baker depicts European cold-water corals, which make up 65% of all known coral species, to raise awareness of deep-sea ecosystems threatened by commercial and industrial activities. The project involved a collaboration with marine biologists from the Netherlands and Sweden.

Do wearables help those with chronic disease?

The integration of wearable technology in healthcare has promised significant benefits for chronic disease management, yet the actual impact remains underexplored. This systematic review published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research...

Learn how to make a print like Andy Warhol

Warhol's signature printing style was a practiced balance of mass-production silk-screen techniques and deliberately introduced hand-painting and imperfections.

The evolution of spacesuit design

Spacesuits have come a long way since cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin's orange jumpsuit used in the world's first entry into space in 1960. The iconic outfit is a crucial feature of all space exploration, ensuring humans are protected during launch, spacewalks, re-entry, and more. From innovations in thermal wear to the incremental changes to space helmets, dive into spacesuit history here.

Explore a visualization of curved spacetime under general relativity

While depictions involving bends in elastic fabrics are common to illustrate gravity, they are circular representations that rely on gravity in the real world to depict gravity in the model. The river model instead shows how bends in spacetime convert speed through time into speed through space, producing acceleration.

View a gallery of whimsical transmission tower designs from around the world

Despite their importance to the functioning of the electric grid, these structures are often considered aesthetically unpleasant. To remedy this, some have been transformed into art installations featuring stained glass and colorful lighting, or built with whimsical designs, such as clown faces or giant bodies.

Oktoberfest revelers wear traditional dress

Lederhosen (short leather pants) and dirndls (dresses with lace-up bodices) are found everywhere at Oktoberfest, This short documentary explores the resurgence of traditional clothing in Germany, which extends beyond Oktoberfest.

View a gallery of vintage photos of Martha Graham's performances

Graham's choreography was as visual as it was physical, complemented by the modernist set design of Isamu Noguchi. That's on display in this collection of artful photos from classic productions of shows like "Night Journey" and "Appalachian Spring."

Women's wartime suit features silk dyed with CRISPR-modified bacteria

Anna Dumitriu's bioart piece was created to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the first use of penicillin in a human patient and intends to raise awareness about the rapid development of antibiotic-resistant pathogens by using bacteria that have essentially been transformed into their pre-antibiotic era state.

The ways Bauhaus still shapes modern life

The German art school was around for less than 15 years, but its aesthetic and philosophy can still be seen today in sleek, minimalist design, bold typefaces, and even the corporate aesthetics of IKEA, Apple, and other brands. This DW feature visits the schools that have taken up the Bauhaus legacy, using its ideas to tackle contemporary problems.

View galleries of images taken by the Voyager spacecraft during planetary flybys

The images and videos include close-ups of Uranus, Jupiter's Great Red Spot, Saturn's ring system, and Neptune's Great Dark Spot. The Pale Blue Dot color image of Earth is included as part of the solar system's family portrait.

Visualizing the built world compared to the natural world

In the last century, humans have covered the Earth in 1,300 metric gigatons of built material, known as technomass. That amount is more than the Earth's entire biomass at 1,100 GT, which includes all living organisms. To get a sense of the scale of this comparison, click through this striking, simple visualization showcasing the various organisms comprising biomass as well as the materials making up the technomass.

30,000 men known as the 'League of Broke Husbands' once protested Dior's luxury fashion designs

In the 1940s, these men living in post-war France were angry about the waste and cost of the fabric needed to make its luxury clothing. Today, Dior is owned by luxury conglomerate LVMH.

See these 16 pieces of art evoking phobias of snakes, flying, spiders, and more. 

After 25 people used virtual reality headsets to practice flying with virtual wings—flapping their arms—their visual cortex responded to the wings almost as if they were real arms, treating them as body parts.

According to the physics of black holes, our 4D reality may be a hologram—a projection of information coded on a 2D surface on the edge of the universe.

See the most iconic photos from four decades of LIFE magazine

Explore our favorite visualization of the immense scale of space, from an astronaut to the size of the observable universe

To reduce wrinkles in clothing, research recommends gentle wash cycles with more water and tumble drying with smaller loads and longer times.

As of 2025, the most cited papers in science include a review of graphene, methods to improve image recognition, streamlining electron density calculations, and optimizing protein studies.

Take a 3D tour of the Hajj, Islam's annual pilgrimage to Mecca, undertaken by more than 1.5 million Muslims each year.

See images of medical cases of firework injuries shared on this 'Instagram for doctors.' (Warning: Graphic content)

Georgia O'Keeffe's flower paintings are often assumed to be sexual, though the artist claimed she was simply interested in highlighting the beauty of flowers that most people neglect

Dorothy's famous entrance into Oz in 'The Wizard of Oz' relied on analog tricks, including a body double and sepia-toned paint, as much as it did on technology

Visualize how CRISPR-Cas9—a type of immune system used by single-celled organisms to attack invasive viruses—targets and makes precise changes to a gene's DNA.

About 2,000 US babies are born annually without some portion of their limbs, potentially leading to a lifetime of pricey prosthetics.

Art theft is the third-largest source of criminal revenues worldwide, thanks in part to the subjective nature of valuing a work of art.

The most expensive ad of all time was for Chanel No. 5 perfume and cost roughly $33M to produce in 2004—about $57M in today's dollars.

US housing costs have risen by roughly 175% between 1991 and 2026—but a growing number of Gen Zers are becoming homeowners anyway. In 2025, 4% of homebuyers were Gen Z, up from 3% the year before.

A vending machine run with Anthropic's AI went out of business after it was convinced to give away items for free and sell a video game console.

Tattoos remain visible on your skin thanks to immune cells called macrophages

While the first exchange-traded fund (a 'basket' of different assets that can be bought and sold on a stock exchange) in the US only launched in 1993, the global ETF market has grown to more than $10T in the short time since.

Explore the archaeological treasures of Pompeii, the city buried under volcanic ash when Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 CE.

All rainbows are 'raincircles' caused by water droplets separating white sunlight into a spectrum of colors, but Earth's surface blocks the bottom half of the circle from our line of sight.

In 2025, four executives from large tech companies were given positions in the US Army Reserves—including Palantir Chief Technology Officer Shyam Sankar, which reinforced Palantir's ties with the US military and its role as a leading defense partner.

In 2009, the nation was gripped by the story of a missing young boy who was believed to be floating over Colorado in a homemade balloon, until it was revealed that he was at home the whole time.