“Leonardo da Vinci: Machines in Motion” promises intrigue and interaction for all ages

Published: June 4, 2010

The highly interactive “Leonardo da Vinci: Machines in Motion” exhibit is on display at the Museum of the Rockies at Montana State University in Bozeman through Sept. 11.  

This traveling exhibit includes 40 of da Vinci’s inventions, meticulously built from his technical drawings. Visitors can engage with, and fully activate, most machines.

The exhibit, which originated in Florence, Italy, brings together the largest exhibition of full-size machine replicas ever assembled, all constructed according to Leonardo da Vinci’s famous codices. The experience allows visitors to explore history, science, mechanics and physics, invention and innovation, and provides a combination of education and entertainment, topped with the intrigue of da Vinci himself.

“Based on the popularity of the King Tut exhibit several years ago, we think Montanans will welcome the opportunity to see da Vinci’s work,” said Shelley McKamey, museum dean and director.

All 40 of da Vinci’s machines were built by a group of scientists and skilled artisans in collaboration with the Leonardo da Vinci Museum in Florence. Bozeman is the first city in the Northwest to host the exhibit, which travels to Mexico next.

Some of the more well-known machines in the exhibit include a revolving crane, a full-size armored car (large enough for several visitors to explore inside), working robot, bicycle, printing press, parachute and machine gun.

Museum staff and volunteers will demonstrate how six of the machines work at 11 a.m., 2 and 4 p.m. daily. Every Friday during the summer the museum will offer Inventor’s Workshops for children focused on the exhibit.

Leonardo da Vinci was born in 1452 in Tuscany, Italy. The archetype for the “Renaissance Man,” da Vinci was a painter, sculptor, musician, architect, engineer and anatomist. He is most identified with his paintings: “Mona Lisa,” “The Last Supper,” and “Vitruvian Man.” His thousands of manuscripts, collectively named the “Codices,” contain designs that are the precursors of many modern machines and devices.

According to the exhibit’s text: “Perhaps more than anyone before him – and perhaps anyone since – Leonardo was a great scientist, engineer and artist all in one. He combined a scientist’s passion for exploring how things work and an artist’s ability to vividly illustrate his revelation.”

“Leonardo da Vinci surely would have been fascinated by today’s technology, but he may not have been overly surprised. After all, he predicted much of it,“ McKamey observed.

For more information, call 406-994-2652 or visit museumoftherockies.org.