What is 3D Content?
3D data and technologies offer realistic access to primary source material — the things themselves. All real-world objects are candidates for digital reproduction and curricular integration.
Will 3D Content Benefit Your Course?
Teaching that uses artifacts, specimens, and anatomical structures can benefit from 3D content. 3D models offer new ways to engage with materials using features like cutaway visualization, surface curvature measurement, and multispectral analysis.
Sample projects
- Art history classes could examine a 3D sculpture virtually, instead of traveling to a museum
- Organic Chemistry students can engage with protein molecules on the web or in virtual reality
- Walk through historical architecture at human scale, as Harvard undergraduates
Coffin of Ankh-Khonsu by Harvard Museum of the Ancient Near East using Sketchfab
Finding 3D Content
Harvard Library offers a gallery of 3D learning objects from Harvard Library collections and beyond in SketchFab.
Additional places for free 3D content
- Sketchfab: supports new model hosting and collection building with 3D objects
- NIH3D Print Exchange: ideal for 3D printing upgrades and modifications to equipment
- Smithsonian: has a range of open access, historical content for use in the classroom
- Other useful 3D repositories include: Thingiverse, Morphosource, and Turbosquid
Printing 3D objects
Thinking about using 3D objects in your classes? We offer a 3D scanning as a service and welcome your suggestions for potential projects.
For Faculty and Teaching Fellows
Using industry-standard scanning techniques, our team can rapidly create interactive digital surrogates of artifacts and specimens held in our collections. In addition to scanning new items, we can help you integrate existing 3D content within your course.
There’s no limit to what can be produced using contemporary scanning techniques, and objects ranging from the very small to entire buildings can be digitized and integrated within a course syllabus, or deployed in a multi-user environment for shared exploration.
