“Discover the da Vinci in you:” Da Vinci Machines Exhibition

Inventor, artist, architect, scientist, musician, mathematician, engineer, and more. Leonardo da

Vinci was a man of many talents, a true Renaissance Man. There are many things we still do not know about da Vinci’s life and works, but what we do know is extraordinary.

   In the Arthur Lakes Library, there is currently an interactive audio tour of the da Vinci Machines Exhibition. The exhibit includes working machines and models, da Vinci’s codices, several designs, paintings, and a 45 minutes movie about his life. A QR code leads to a playlist of audio recordings walking listeners through the life and works of da Vinci present in the exhibit. The exhibit is split into five themes: military machines, flying machines, nautical & hydraulic machines, mechanics, and masterpieces.

   On Feb. 22, Mark Rodgers, the Da Vinci Exhibit Director, presented a lecture on the exhibit and da Vinci. Rodgers told stories of da Vinci and Michelangelo, detailing how interconnected their lives were, and he shared details about da Vinci’s life and work. He shared little known facts, such as da Vinci painted himself into The Last Supper and the history of Rome’s influence on the Renaissance and our modern technology. Da Vinci was a complicated man, a designer of war machines that hated war and a charitable person that believed men were inherently evil. Rodgers’ lecture proved that there is more to famous men like da Vinci than even the history books give them credit for.

   Mark Rodgers said that this exhibit’s main goal is to encourage visitors to discover the da Vinci

within themselves. He believes that people need to remember to “Dream and think and imagine and create and wonder” and to choose to go through life with talent rather than just go through life.

   The exhibit will be in the library through the end of the spring semester, and more events and lectures will be held. For more information, visit the Arthur Lakes Library and www.discoverdavinci.com.