By Kassandra Reyes
When someone mentions the “Mona Lisa,” “The Vitruvian Man,” or “The Last Supper” masterpiece, there is one name that immediately comes to mind. The Italian engineer, artist, innovator, and scientist Leonardo da Vinci has left a lasting legacy, which is now coming to the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum. The “Leonardo da Vinci: Machines in Motion” exhibit is on display until Jan. 6, 2019.
This exhibit includes more than 30 machines that have been constructed from da Vinci’s drawings in the Codex Atlanticus, a 12-volume compilation of his drawings and coded writings, and the Madrid Codices. Thanks to a team of dedicated Renaissance scientists and craftsmen from Florence, Italy, each machine included in the exhibit has been “faithfully constructed from Leonardo’s notebooks,” according to the Bush Library and Museum website. The machines in the exhibit have been assorted into four different sections: Fire, Water, Earth, and Air.
Curated by Susie Cox, this interactive, hands-on exhibit will feature machines like the helicopter, glider, armored tank, printing press, bicycle, parachute, oil press, machine gun, and more. Besides the exhibit being family friendly and educational, David Anaya, director of marketing and communications for the Bush Library and Museum, says this exhibit will give people something different to come learn about at the museum.
Anaya says he anticipates this exhibit will spark local and outsider interest because of the name recognition da Vinci brings. His inventions, innovations, and interests will not only educate, but inspire future engineers, according to Anaya. Getting to touch and set these machines in motion gives visitors a unique experience where they get to see da Vinci’s principles and theories in motion.
“For people being able to get their hands on some of these machines, to be able to get up close to them, will give them not only an appreciation for what this person meant to society [in that time] in general, but will also get to put the why to his name,” Anaya says.
This exhibit allows visitors to dive beyond da Vinci’s art works and into his ‘encrypted’ (right to left handwritten) notes. Visitors can see how these inventions continue to have roles in society today like the bicycle, helicopter, and pillar lifts — all still in use and useful around the world. Owned by Evergreen Exhibitions, “Leonardo da Vinci: Machines in Motion” has been on display in Mexico City, Mexico; Columbia, South Carolina; Las Vegas, Nevada; Hartford, Connecticut; Edinburg, Texas; Buffalo, New York; and more. Past reviews rave over the full-scale replicas of da Vinci’s machines, receiving crowds that vary substantially in age with all left in wonder and in awe.
Besides da Vinci’s famous paintings and drawings, he is also notable in science, mathematics, engineering, geology, and more. There is a direct correlation between the Engineering department at Texas A&M University and this new exhibit, Anaya says. The agricultural and engineering emphasis the university holds leads Anaya to expect the da Vinci exhibit will draw a big STEM student crowd. Last year’s ranching exhibit drew about 160,000 visitors to the Bush Library and Museum.
Anaya mentions that the success of these exhibits is due to the temporary nature of the displays, which gives the Bryan College Station community a chance to see something or someone in a different light.
“These temporary exhibits give an insight to people in the community about stuff other than just the president,” Anaya says.
Now on display, “Leonardo da Vinci: Machines in Motion” will be at the Bush Library and Museum until Jan. 6, 2019. Texas A&M and Blinn College students get in for free. General admission tickets are $9 and can be purchased at the front desk. Admission includes free personal photography and an audio wand that includes an audio tour. For more information, visit www.bush41.org or call (979) 691-4057.
