Leonardo da Vinci: Inventor
"Human subtlety will never devise an invention more beautiful, more simple or more direct than does Nature, because in her inventions, nothing is lacking and nothing is superfluous."
Leonardo da Vinci
If you think Leonardo da Vinci's most important work was primarily as an inventor, consider the following creations credited to Leonardo. For your paper, you will need to focus on a certain category of inventions, such as flying machines, military weapons, civil machines, etc. in order to keep the material to a reasonable length.
Keep in mind the following questions as you do your research and collect your images:
1. How might Leonardo’s inventions be divided into categories? Consider the titles often
attributed to him: engineer, architect, military advisor, aeronautic designer, city planner,
etc.
2. What new ideas about machines did Leonardo have? What types of machines interested
him the most?
3. What kind of building materials were available to Leonardo da Vinci? How did that
influence the design and success of his new ideas?
4. How did Leonardo's creations compare with other inventions of his time? In what ways
do his inventions demonstrate his genius?
5. Who sponsored Leonardo da Vinci's work, and what did they hope to gain from his
knowledge?
6. Are Leonardo's designs still useful today? What ongoing influence do his inventions have
on our lives today?
7. In your evaluation, which three inventions are the most important and why?
8. How might your understanding of his inventions affect your own creative work?
You may use the following web sites to complete your assignment:
INTERACTIVE SITES
Inventor's Workshop http://www.mos.org/sln/Leonardo/InventorsWorkshop.html
Leonardo's Mysterious Machines http://www.mos.org/sln/Leonardo/LeosMysteriousMachinery.html
Interactive Explore Leonardo's Studio http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/leonardo/studio/
RESEARCH SITES
Renaissance Man:Inventor http://www.mos.org/leonardo/inventor.html
Italian Museum Leonardo's Machines http://www.museoscienza.org/english/leonardo/
Civil Machines http://www.lairweb.org.nz/leonardo/clocks.html
War Machines http://www.lairweb.org.nz/leonardo/armoured.html
Models of Inventions & Architecture http://www.museoscienza.org/english/leonardo/invenzioni/
Musical Inventions http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/12/10/notes-from-leonardos-musical-dreams/?scp=2&sq=da%20vinci&st=cse
The Leonardo da Vinci Bicycle Hoax http://www.cyclepublishing.com/history/leonardo%20da%20vinci%20bicycle.html
The Man Who Wanted to Know Everything http://www.kidsnewsroom.org/elmer/infoCentral/frameset/inventors/davinci/
Leonardo: Engineer http://www.engineering.com/Library/ArticlesPage/tabid/85/articleType/
ArticleView/articleId/34/Leonardo-Da-Vinci.aspx
Leonardo and the Engineers of the Renaissance http://brunelleschi.imss.fi.it/ingrin/
Scroll to 1494 http://www.thocp.net/timeline/1310.htm
da Vinci Sketched an Early Car http://www.abc.net.au/science/news/stories/s1094767.htm
Leonardo: The Ideal City http://www.museoscienza.org/IdealCity/default.htm
Leonardo and the Military http://www.umiacs.umd.edu/~kuijt/dba169x/dba169x.html
Leonardo's Machines http://www.museoscienza.org/english/leonardo/default.htm
Leonardo and His Machines http://www.lairweb.org.nz/leonardo/
Leonardo's Study of Flight images http://members.tripod.com/~mr_sedivy/da_flight.html
1. How might Leonardo’s inventions be divided into categories? Consider the titles often
attributed to him: engineer, architect, military advisor, aeronautic designer, city planner,
etc.
2. What new ideas about machines did Leonardo have? What types of machines interested
him the most?
3. What kind of building materials were available to Leonardo da Vinci? How did that
influence the design and success of his new ideas?
4. How did Leonardo's creations compare with other inventions of his time? In what ways
do his inventions demonstrate his genius?
5. Who sponsored Leonardo da Vinci's work, and what did they hope to gain from his
knowledge?
6. Are Leonardo's designs still useful today? What ongoing influence do his inventions have
on our lives today?
7. In your evaluation, which three inventions are the most important and why?
8. How might your understanding of his inventions affect your own creative work?
You may use the following web sites to complete your assignment:
INTERACTIVE SITES
Inventor's Workshop http://www.mos.org/sln/Leonardo/InventorsWorkshop.html
Leonardo's Mysterious Machines http://www.mos.org/sln/Leonardo/LeosMysteriousMachinery.html
Interactive Explore Leonardo's Studio http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/leonardo/studio/
RESEARCH SITES
Renaissance Man:Inventor http://www.mos.org/leonardo/inventor.html
Italian Museum Leonardo's Machines http://www.museoscienza.org/english/leonardo/
Civil Machines http://www.lairweb.org.nz/leonardo/clocks.html
War Machines http://www.lairweb.org.nz/leonardo/armoured.html
Models of Inventions & Architecture http://www.museoscienza.org/english/leonardo/invenzioni/
Musical Inventions http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/12/10/notes-from-leonardos-musical-dreams/?scp=2&sq=da%20vinci&st=cse
The Leonardo da Vinci Bicycle Hoax http://www.cyclepublishing.com/history/leonardo%20da%20vinci%20bicycle.html
The Man Who Wanted to Know Everything http://www.kidsnewsroom.org/elmer/infoCentral/frameset/inventors/davinci/
Leonardo: Engineer http://www.engineering.com/Library/ArticlesPage/tabid/85/articleType/
ArticleView/articleId/34/Leonardo-Da-Vinci.aspx
Leonardo and the Engineers of the Renaissance http://brunelleschi.imss.fi.it/ingrin/
Scroll to 1494 http://www.thocp.net/timeline/1310.htm
da Vinci Sketched an Early Car http://www.abc.net.au/science/news/stories/s1094767.htm
Leonardo: The Ideal City http://www.museoscienza.org/IdealCity/default.htm
Leonardo and the Military http://www.umiacs.umd.edu/~kuijt/dba169x/dba169x.html
Leonardo's Machines http://www.museoscienza.org/english/leonardo/default.htm
Leonardo and His Machines http://www.lairweb.org.nz/leonardo/
Leonardo's Study of Flight images http://members.tripod.com/~mr_sedivy/da_flight.html
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