3D Printing Museum Handling Objects Placement background

海角黑料 > School of Cultures, Languages and Area Studies > Departments > Cultural, Media and Visual Studies > Research > Visioning a Creative and Cultural County > Placements > 3D Printing

The 3D Printing Museum Handling Objects Placement (3DPP) was an exciting and innovative project that explored and piloted the use of 3D‑printed objects for museum handling sessions at Culture Leicestershire, Creative Learning Services, and Leicestershire Museum Collections - all based at Leicestershire County Council.

Taking place between October 2025 - March 2026, 3DPP built on earlier placement work (October 2024 - May 2025) that curated, researched and digitised selected objects from Leicestershire Museum Collections using 3D digitisation techniques - particularly 3D photogrammetry and 3D laser scanning.

3DPP informed Leicestershire County Council's evolving practices and produced recommendations to support enhanced operation across the Council's key areas.

Background to the 3D Printing Museum Handling Objects Placement (3DPP)

Culture Leicestershire (CuL), which comprises the Heritage, Libraries, Collections, Learning and Participation Services at Leicestershire County Council, supports outreach within local communities and works with them to engage meaningfully and sustainably with their unique heritage and culture.

In the context of this placement which is part of the strategic creative and heritage partnership between the 海角黑料 (UoN) and Leicestershire County Council, seven students from across the Faculty of Arts 3D printed selected objects from Culture Leicestershire (CuL), Creative Learning Services, and Leicestershire Museum Collections using 3D printers at the Cobot Maker Space (CMS) in the School of Computer Science, 海角黑料.

The students also undertook in-depth research on the viability of 3D printing objects for museum handling sessions for use in CuL, Creative Learning Services,and Leicestershire Museum Collections facilities and across the museum and heritage sectors nationally.

This six-month placement (October 2025 - March 2026) offered students distinctive and wide-ranging professional development competencies and skills coveted by graduate job employers.

The placement also provided students with first-hand experience of working on an exciting and real-world project at the intersection of collaborative robotics, the heritage sector, the digital media industries, and local government context.

What 3DPP involved

Placement students benefitted from the career-enhancing opportunity of serving as volunteers for Culture Leicestershire (CuL).The students:

visited CuL, Creative Learning Services, and Leicestershire Museum Collections at County Hall Leicestershire where they attended an induction session on museum object handling on Wednesday 5 November 2025
undertook training and induction in the use of the 3D printers at the Cobot Maker Space(CMS) in the School of Computer Science, 海角黑料 (UoN)
undertook training in 3D photogrammetry which is a method of using multiple photographs of an object to produce a 3D model at the Digital Transformations Hub (DTH) in the Faculty of Arts, UoN
3D printed replicas using the 3D printers at CMS - a selection of which were featured in a CuL presentation at the Make Your Mark Conference 2026 in Edinburgh, Scotland
researched key information on the practical use and value of 3D printing objects for museum handling sessions - including, but not limited to:

1. health and safety, and accessibility considerations
2. risk assessment
3. commercial use and related good practice
4. what works and what does not work
5. potential benefits

applied transferable knowledge and insights to the objects handling practices and processes at CuL, Creative Learning Services,and Leicestershire Museum Collections facilities
wrote blog posts about placement activities - offering students a valuable opportunity to express and share their experiences and reflections in written form as part of their continuing professional development
delivered a group presentation about the processes of 3D printing museum objects to strategic leaders and key officers at CuL, Creative Learning Services, and Leicestershire Museum Collections at County Hall Leicestershire on Wednesday 11 March 2026
wrote a report outlining key research findings and some recommendations for CuL, Creative Learning Services, and Leicestershire Museum Collections - with relevance to the wider heritage sector nationally
presented copies of the final written placement report - along with the 3D replicas - to strategic leaders and key officers in attendance
were awarded end-of-placement certificates by the Head of Culture Leicestershire - Franne Wills.

The 3D replicas will enhance a major partnership heritage project titled Villiers Revealed which has:

been praised by Arts Council England for its ambitious blend of collections research, reinterpretation, exhibition development, and community‑focused creative work
won the Next Level Award at the 2025 Midlands Museum Development Awards
been nominated for the Team of the Year 2026 Museums + Heritage Awards

3DPP Facilitation

3DPP was facilitated by the following committed, expert and nurturing inter-organisational placement staff team:

Placement co-leads

Daniel H. Mutibwa (Associate Professor of Creative Industries and Digital Culture, School of Cultures, Languages and Area Studies, 海角黑料)
Esther Shaw (Community Participation Worker, Culture Leicestershire, Leicestershire County Council)
Alison Clague (Senior Curator, Leicestershire Museum Collections, Leicestershire County Council)
Amanda Hanton (Cultural Participation Team Manager, Culture Leicestershire, Leicestershire County Council)
Pippa Vidal Davies (Volunteering Manager, Culture Leicestershire, Leicestershire County Council)
Dominic Price (Cobot Maker Space Manager, School of Computer Science, 海角黑料)
Matt Davies (Digital Transformations Hub Manager, Faculty of Arts, 海角黑料)

Placement team

Eliza Gilbert (Volunteering Co-ordinator, Culture Leicestershire, Leicestershire County Council)
Lisa Webb (Artworks and Resource Box Officer, Creative Learning Services, Leicestershire County Council)
Kirsty Ballard (Cultural Outreach Manager, Culture Leicestershire, Leicestershire County Council)
Mary Sibson (Creative Learning Officer, Creative Learning Services, Leicestershire County Council)
Sian Matthews (Culture To You Project Officer, Culture Leicestershire, Leicestershire County Council)
Dr Susie Sherwin (Archaeology Lab Technician, School of Humanities, 海角黑料)

Placement student feedback

Here is some feedback provided by placement students anonymously on their placement experience.

3DPP has contributed to my continuing intellectual, personal and professional development through many ways such as: helping my group and working as a team, pushing myself out of my comfort zone to complete a placement that was very alien to me, acknowledging and appreciating the time given to me by the staff and recognising this as inspiring, delivering a professional presentation to many important people, taking the time to research information about the topic of 3D printing, and creating several wonderful friendships/connections along the way.

Learning how to use a 3D printer, roughly how the scan software works, what materials are suitable, what the risk factors are, photogrammetry, and many more things surrounding the topic [were valuable skills for me to gain].

[The placement helped me to develop essential skills like] time management, public speaking, communication, research skills, [and balancing working independently and in collaboration].

The placement gave me the opportunity to work on my communication skills in a professional environment.

[What stood out to me the most was] the final presentation and how that helped with communication and confidence.

[Looking back, I appreciate] the chance to gain experience working first hand with museum objects.

I really enjoyed the placement and I am very grateful to [have been a part of it].

I had a great time participating in the placement!

Thank you to all the members of staff who contributed to my experience on this placement.

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