- Source: CNN " data-fave-thumbnails="{"big": { "uri": "https://media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/141203072702-01-obama-3d-bust.jpg?q=x_0,y_0,h_2445,w_4348,c_fill/h_540,w_960" }, "small": { "uri": "https://media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/141203072702-01-obama-3d-bust.jpg?q=x_0,y_0,h_2445,w_4348,c_fill/h_540,w_960" } }" data-vr-video="false" data-show-html="" data-byline-html="
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Updated 9:27 AM EST, Thu December 4, 2014
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3-D--printed bust of President Obama created by the Smithsonian using 3-D scanning technology (Photo courtesy of Digital Program Office/ Smithsonian Institution)
Obama gets first-ever 3D printed portrait
03:08 - Source: CNN

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Washington CNN  — 

Tourists flocking to Washington, D.C., hoping to get a glimpse of President Barack Obama might not get the chance to see him in person – but they can now get pretty close thanks to the Smithsonian Institution.

The first-ever 3D-printed bust of a U.S. President – a life-size replica of Obama – is now on display at the Smithsonian Castle after a project that was inspired by the life masks of President Abraham Lincoln.

But unlike Lincoln, Obama didn’t have to get plastered up. Instead, he took a seat as 50 LED lights, eight high-resolution sports cameras and six wide-angle cameras sparked off for about a second.

“This isn’t an artistic likeness of the President, this is actually millions upon millions of measurements that create a 3D likeness of the President,” 3D digitization program officer at the Smithsonian Adam Metallo says in a White House video released Tuesday.

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