Personal 3D printing technologies are moving design and manufacturing into the hands of users, allowing makers to create—and share—digital files for producing physical objects. Hacking, long associated with penetrating the secrets of software, has extended its conquest to the world of physical things. Users are now taking apart and reassembling consumer products, treating the world of manufactured goods as a kit of parts to be reworked and rewritten.

Please join us for what promises to be a fascinating discussion about hacking consumer goods, moderated by Ellen Lupton (Designer, Curator of Contemporary Design at Cooper Hewitt, and Professor at Maryland Institute College of Art). Panelists include Avinash Rajagopal (Senior Editor, Metropolis), Golan Levin (creator of Free Universal Construction Kit and professor of design at Carnegie Mellon University), and Eric Rosenbaum (co-inventor of MaKey MaKey and member of MIT Media Lab).