Da Vinci Machines and Robotics in Gisborne next week

THE DA VINCI MODE: This bike was constructed from a drawing found in a collection of Leonardo da Vinci’s sketchbooks — the Codex Atlanticus. It is just one of the many inventions that the 15th century genius designed. Picture supplied

There are geniuses, and then there was Leonardo da Vinci.Regarded as one of the most extraordinary people of all time, da Vinci was a universal genius of the 15th Century, whose expertise spanned a significant number of various subject areas — invention, painting, sculpting, architecture, science, music, mathematics, engineering, literature, anatomy, geology, astronomy, botany, writing, history, and cartography.

His influence has been so great that even 500 years after his death, his art and approach to science and technology continue to inspire people in the 21st Century.

He is the painter behind the world’s most famous paintings, the Mona Lisa and the Last Supper, as well as the iconic Vitruvian Man drawing, which shows the proportions of the human body.

Da Vinci was also famous for his inventions and it is this that will be the focus of the international touring exhibition Da Vinci Machines and Robotics, which opens at Tairawhiti Museum on Friday, March 9.

This award-winning exhibition invites visitors to delve into the mind of the quintessential ‘Renaissance man’, and showcases many of his iconic inventions.

On loan from the Museum of Leonardo da Vinci in Florence, Italy, the hand-crafted exhibition brings together ingenious creations devised more than 500 years ago.

Created by the acclaimed Artisans of Florence in collaboration with The Niccolai Group (Firenze), the exhibition consists of over 60 exhibits, reconstructed from da Vinci’s manuscripts and drawings.

Many of the pieces are interactive and the collection brings to life da Vinci’s most important and impressive world firsts including the bicycle, hang glider, the aerial screw (the precursor to the helicopter), the scuba suit, a mechanical lion and the incredible robot drummer.

Exploring and connecting his studies wwin nature, anatomy, mechanics, flight and robotics, the exhibition demonstrates how his work is more relevant in today’s scientific world then when he first conceived his amazing ideas.

The exhibition is suited to all ages and visitors will be able to touch and handle many of the models to gain a first-hand appreciation of how they work.

For more information about the Da Vinci Machines and Robotics exhibition education programme contact education@tairawhitimuseum.org.nz