In 2016 the Science Museum will welcome an internationally touring exhibition on Leonardo da Vinci into one of its temporary exhibition spaces. This exhibition will explore the diverse technical imagination of Leonardo da Vinci through a variety of interactive displays and historical models.
Leonardo Da Vinci: The Mechanics Of Genius, 10 February 2016 - 04 September 2016.
The exhibition will be an opportunity for visitors to learn about the nature of Leonardo’s genius and his relationship with the world, as well as the role played by active observation in forming his technical imagination. It will present the collection of 40 models belonging to the Museo Nazionale della Scienza e della Tecnologia Leonardo da Vinci from Milan alongside interactive exhibits and video installations.
Please note that there is no original material in the exhibition: the models are not his own (as he never actually turned his ideas into model form) and the drawing and sketches are those shown on the large curtains and therefore not the original material.
The exhibition will delve into Leonardo's notebook extracts, and the different purposes of his drawings: landscapes and surveys, relief of existing technology, sketches without any practical use, proposal of improvements, and detailed views of original machines.
Items on display in the exhibition will include designs and sketches for a self-propelled carriage, gears, a big scale model of the Brunelleschi crane, a spinning wheel with mobile wings, how birds fly, the flying airship, the ballistic, the covered war carriage and a machine for polishing mirrors.
The exhibition will be divided into 6 unique sections giving visitors an insight into the highly diverse fields his work spanned (shown below in the order the visitor will experience them in the exhibition). There is also an introductory section to the exhibition:
Introduction
The exhibition begins with two questions that refer to some of the most important misunderstandings about Leonardo:
-    Leonardo da Vinci’s drawings of machines; are they all inventions?
-    Is Leonardo the only designer of machines?
Transforming Movement
Over the course of the years, Leonardo da Vinci designed increasingly sophisticated machines featuring worm gears, chains, springs and crossbows, cams and rod-crank systems, so as to convert movement in accordance with the planned application.
Preparing for War
Leonardo worked on multiple studies of fortifications and weapons, producing often highly accomplished drawings in which he gave full vent to his creativity. He extended his knowledge on ballistics and physics. His studies on trajectory and the impact of projectiles as well as static fortifications were among the most innovative of their day.
Drawing Inspiration from Nature
Biomimetics or bioinspiration are two terms related to a brilliant, ancient idea - one of those that characterise Leonardo's method. This section will explore a few examples in the field of robotics (flight control of robots based on the optical flow, like bees, a flapping wings drone, and a robotic eel), aviation (Airbus bioinspired vision of the future airplane), and materials (artificial spider silk and honeycomb formed reinforced composites).
Imagining Flight
Leonardo produced studies of flight at several periods in his life. His approach was methodical with his sketches of mechanical wings transposing his observations of birds in flight.
Improving Manufacturing
Leonardo made textiles one of his primary areas for research, seeking to resolve the practical problems which he observed. He improved existing processes by automating them, and applied his knowledge to multiple fields including the staging of shows and festivities with machinery and automata.
Unifying Knowledge
Leonardo's interest in movement is reflected in experiments on friction or perpetual motion. After 1500, his drawings increasingly focused on the study of nature, with anatomy, physics, hydraulics, all taken in their theoretical dimension.
Prior to its opening at the Science Museum in London, the exhibition has been shown in the following places:
- Munich: Inspired by nature: Drawings and models by Leonardo da Vinci
- Sao Paulo: Leonardo da Vinci: Nature of the Invention
- Paris: Leonardo da Vinci: Projects, Designs, Machinery
- Korea: Leonardo da Vinci: Nature, Art & Science
Exhibition runs from 10 February – 04 September 2016
15 minute time slots from 10.15am to 4.30pm
Group minimum 10 people
Capacity 40 people per time slot
Admission daily 10.15–18.00 (Last entry 17.15, galleries start to close 30 minutes before the Museum closes)
During school holidays the Museum is open daily until 19.00
Average dwell time is 1 hour 15 mins.
Book your Leonardo Da Vinci: The Mechanics Of Genius tickets today.