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MakerBot Academy – A Progress Report on Education Initiative to Put MakerBot Replicator 2 Desktop 3D Printers in Schools in America

48 Hours Into Program, MakerBot Funds MakerBot Academy Bundles to Public Schools

BROOKLYN, N.Y. — (BUSINESS WIRE) — November 15, 2013 — MakerBot announced the MakerBot Academy earlier this week, a mission to put a MakerBot® Replicator® 2 Desktop 3D Printer in every school in America. This initiative is a unique partnership between MakerBot, DonorsChoose.org America Makes, and Autodesk, and was a response to a call to action by the President of the United States.

To accomplish this goal, MakerBot partnered with DonorsChoose.org, America Makes and Autodesk to put thousands of MakerBot Academy 3D printing bundles into public school classrooms across the nation. In the first 48 hours of the program, MakerBot is proud to report that teachers jumped into action and rapidly registered their project requests on DonorsChoose.org/makerbot and are making progress on the crowd funding of the MakerBot Academy bundle for schools. Many requests (82) have already been funded, approved, and are on their way to receiving a MakerBot Academy bundle within the next couple weeks.

The MakerBot Academy bundle package offered by MakerBot through DonorsChoose.org is a 25 percent discount on the bundle that includes a MakerBot Replicator 2 Desktop 3D Printer, three rolls of MakerBot PLA Filament, and MakerBot MakerCare™ Service and Protection Plan. This discount is available only through the DonorsChoose.org platform, and is offered to make the crowd funding of this initiative easier for teachers, students, families, community leaders and business to join the effort. With a base price of $2,000, the MakerBot Academy bundle on DonorsChoose.org is available as long as funding and supplies last. The MakerBot Academy bundles are subject to taxes, shipping and handling fees, and an optional donation fee by DonorsChoose.org, which varies by the location of the school.

Bre Pettis, CEO of MakerBot, has personally pledged to put a MakerBot Replicator 2 Desktop 3D Printer in public high schools in Brooklyn, N.Y., the hometown of MakerBot and where MakerBot Replicator 2 and MakerBot® Digitizer™ Desktop 3D Scanners are manufactured. Pettis’ and MakerBot’s commitment is so strong to putting MakerBot Replicator 2 Desktop 3D Printers in schools, that Pettis and MakerBot are encouraging others to join this effort and help move America’s students to the forefront of technology and global competitiveness.

“We can do this. We can put a 3D printer in every school and give our kids a competitive advantage they deserve,” said Pettis. “A MakerBot is a manufacturing education in a box. We need to encourage our teachers and our youth to think differently about manufacturing and innovation, and 3D printing is a way to accomplish this. When you have a MakerBot Desktop 3D Printer, you see the world differently. Instead of waiting for someone to create a product for you, you can create your own. It can change the whole paradigm of how our children will see innovation and manufacturing in America. Having a MakerBot in the classroom can also encourage kids to follow their passions and helps develop more engineers, architects, industrial designers, artists, and entrepreneurs.”

Here’s how you can help. Get the word out to teachers throughout the U.S. and have them register at DonorsChoose.org. Then support their request by contributing to the effort by choosing a teacher and project to support on DonorsChoose.org. Individuals, corporations and community leaders can come on board to help; donations are tax-deductible. MakerBot also is offering a Thingiverse Design Challenge this next week to have the 3D printing and design community create math manipulatives that teachers can 3D print immediately upon receiving their MakerBot Replicator 2 and use the to improve Science Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education.

For more information on MakerBot Academy, visit makerbot.com/Academy. For more information on supporting or registering for the program, visit DonorsChoose.org.

About MakerBot

MakerBot, a subsidiary of Stratasys, Ltd., is leading the Next Industrial Revolution by setting the standards in reliable and affordable desktop 3D printing. Founded in 2009, MakerBot has built the largest installed base of desktop 3D printers sold to innovative and industry-leading customers worldwide, including engineers, architects, designers, educators and consumers. The MakerBot 3D Ecosystem drives accessibility and rapid adoption of 3D printing and includes: Thingiverse.com, the MakerBot Digitizer Desktop 3D Scanner, the MakerBot Replicator line of Desktop 3D Printers, MakerWare software, MakerCare, the MakerBot retail store, and strategic partnerships with top-tier brands. MakerBot has been honored with many accolades, including Popular Mechanics’ “Overall Winner” for best 3D printer, Time Magazine’s “Best Inventions of 2012,” Popular Mechanics’ “Editor’s Choice Award,” Popular Science’s “Product of the Year,” Fast Company’s “One of the World’s Top 10 Most Innovative Companies in Consumer Electronics,” and many more. Join the Next Industrial Revolution by following MakerBot at makerbot.com.

About Stratasys

Stratasys Ltd. (Nasdaq: SSYS), headquartered in Minneapolis, Minn. and Rehovot, Israel, manufactures 3D printers and materials for prototyping and production. The company’s patented FDM® and PolyJet® processes produce prototypes and manufactured goods directly from 3D CAD files or other 3D content. Systems include 3D printers for idea development, prototyping and direct digital manufacturing. Stratasys subsidiaries include MakerBot and Solidscape and the company operates the RedEye On Demand digital-manufacturing service. Stratasys has more than 1500 employees, holds over 500 granted or pending additive manufacturing patents globally, and has received more than 20 awards for its technology and leadership. Online at: stratasys.com or blog.stratasys.com.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

Certain information included or incorporated by reference in this press may be deemed to be “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Forward-looking statements are often characterized by the use of forward-looking terminology such as “may,” “will,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “continue,” “believe,” “should,” “intend,” “project” or other similar words, but are not the only way these statements are identified. These forward-looking statements may include, but are not limited to, statements relating to the company’s objectives, plans and strategies, statements regarding the company’s products and their expected performance, statements that contain projections of results of operations or of financial condition (including, with respect to the MakerBot merger) and all statements (other than statements of historical facts) that address activities, events or developments that the company intends, expects, projects, believes or anticipates will or may occur in the future. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to risks and uncertainties. The company has based these forward-looking statements on assumptions and assessments made by its management in light of their experience and their perception of historical trends, current conditions, expected future developments and other factors they believe to be appropriate. Important factors that could cause actual results, developments and business decisions to differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements include, among other things: the company’s ability to efficiently and successfully integrate the operations of Stratasys, Inc. and Objet Ltd. after their merger as well as the ability to successfully integrate MakerBot into Stratasys; the overall global economic environment; the impact of competition and new technologies; general market, political and economic conditions in the countries in which the company operates; projected capital expenditures and liquidity; changes in the company’s strategy; government regulations and approvals; changes in customers’ budgeting priorities; litigation and regulatory proceedings; and those factors referred to under “Risk Factors”, “Information on the Company”, “Operating and Financial Review and Prospects”, and generally in the company’s annual report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2012 filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and in other reports that the Company has filed with the SEC. Readers are urged to carefully review and consider the various disclosures made in the company’s SEC reports, which are designed to advise interested parties of the risks and factors that may affect its business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects. Any forward-looking statements in this press release are made as of the date hereof, and the company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.



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Jenifer Howard
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