By: Bob Levine, Exhibit Project Manager
It’s been a whirlwind of activity for the McWane Exhibits team this month. With a number of new exhibits being designed, built and opened in 2009, we’re working to create the most exciting experiences possible for our visitors. While we strive to create the best permanent exhibits we can to enhance the museum, we are always on the look-out for world-class traveling exhibitions to present to our visitors. When we received a call in January asking if we’d like to host the Leonardo da Vinci Machines in Motion exhibition, we jumped at the chance!
Machines in Motion is a remarkable exhibit. With more than 40 full-scale machines (almost all of them interactive), visitors can spend hours exploring the genius and creativity of the quintessential “Renaissance Man.” Divided into four sections based on the elements of air, water, earth and fire (each an important concept to da Vinci), the exhibit has an incredible assortment of interactive activities.
Machines in Motion was as enjoyable for our Exhibits team as it is for visitors to experience. We are amazed at the craftsmanship and care that went into every exhibit element. Built in Florence, Italy, skilled woodworkers’ expertise is obvious in every detail. Almost all of the materials used to construct the exhibit were available in da Vinci’s era, and he specified most of them in his written codices. In other words, had da Vinci actually built these mechanisms, they would have looked almost identical to what you will find in the exhibit.
What is most impressive about da Vinci’s creations is the man’s extraordinary vision. Included in Machines in Motion are a helicopter, a tank, a parachute, a bicycle, hang-gliders, a printing press and a number of other inventions that wouldn’t be built for centuries. Working without the benefit of the scientific advances of the latter half of the 2nd millennium (including calculus, physics, and modern engineering), da Vinci designed elegant, functional constructs that very clearly resemble machines that we use and take for granted today.
Come celebrate da Vinci’s legacy with us and explore the amazing creative talents of one of the most brilliant minds of the Western world!
View photos of the Machines in Motion exhibit here: http://flickr.com/photos/mcwanesciencecenter/
Check out some of da Vinci's sketches on this website: http://www.drawingsofleonardo.org/
It’s been a whirlwind of activity for the McWane Exhibits team this month. With a number of new exhibits being designed, built and opened in 2009, we’re working to create the most exciting experiences possible for our visitors. While we strive to create the best permanent exhibits we can to enhance the museum, we are always on the look-out for world-class traveling exhibitions to present to our visitors. When we received a call in January asking if we’d like to host the Leonardo da Vinci Machines in Motion exhibition, we jumped at the chance!
Machines in Motion is a remarkable exhibit. With more than 40 full-scale machines (almost all of them interactive), visitors can spend hours exploring the genius and creativity of the quintessential “Renaissance Man.” Divided into four sections based on the elements of air, water, earth and fire (each an important concept to da Vinci), the exhibit has an incredible assortment of interactive activities.
Machines in Motion was as enjoyable for our Exhibits team as it is for visitors to experience. We are amazed at the craftsmanship and care that went into every exhibit element. Built in Florence, Italy, skilled woodworkers’ expertise is obvious in every detail. Almost all of the materials used to construct the exhibit were available in da Vinci’s era, and he specified most of them in his written codices. In other words, had da Vinci actually built these mechanisms, they would have looked almost identical to what you will find in the exhibit.
What is most impressive about da Vinci’s creations is the man’s extraordinary vision. Included in Machines in Motion are a helicopter, a tank, a parachute, a bicycle, hang-gliders, a printing press and a number of other inventions that wouldn’t be built for centuries. Working without the benefit of the scientific advances of the latter half of the 2nd millennium (including calculus, physics, and modern engineering), da Vinci designed elegant, functional constructs that very clearly resemble machines that we use and take for granted today.
Come celebrate da Vinci’s legacy with us and explore the amazing creative talents of one of the most brilliant minds of the Western world!
View photos of the Machines in Motion exhibit here: http://flickr.com/photos/mcwanesciencecenter/
Check out some of da Vinci's sketches on this website: http://www.drawingsofleonardo.org/
Contributor Profile:
Bob Levine is the Exhibit Project Manager at McWane. He is an avid reader, history and film buff, mediocre guitarist, and die-hard Red Sox, Celtics and Patriots fan. He lives with his beautiful wife (due with their first child in April) and their two rambunctious dogs, Abigail and Quincy.
Bob Levine is the Exhibit Project Manager at McWane. He is an avid reader, history and film buff, mediocre guitarist, and die-hard Red Sox, Celtics and Patriots fan. He lives with his beautiful wife (due with their first child in April) and their two rambunctious dogs, Abigail and Quincy.
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