"Leonardo da Vinci: Man, Inventor, Genius" at the Houston Museum of Natural Science exhibits models of the Italian Renaissance scholar's designs for ingenious machines.

It can be said that in the history of Western civilization, no man's imagination was as fertile as that of Italian Renaissance polymath Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519). The special exhibition Leonardo da Vinci: Man, Inventor, Genius at the Houston Museum of Natural Science in Texas (March 7-September 1, 2008) examines the artist's amazing designs for diverse inventions, many centuries ahead of his time and a number of them not produced while he was alive.

Visitors are greeted by a wall-size timeline that guides them through key events in the history of Renaissance Italy and Leonardo's life. The presentation continues with more than 50 custom-built wooden models, each handcrafted in Florence, Italy and constructed according to Leonardo's ingenious and visionary designs. From tabletop displays to large-scale pieces, the museum strongly encourages hands-on interaction with the vividly detailed models for a greater understanding of the inventions' purpose and operation.

Flight

Leonardo's excursions into the field of flight are exemplified by his designs for a Hang Glider, a Parachute, a Wind-measuring Device and an Air Screw that predates the modern-day helicopter. Informative panels with reproductions of Leonardo's sketches illustrate how each invention was intended to work.

Hydraulics

During his lifetime, the painter of Mona Lisa (1503-16) was preoccupied with water. Using his knowledge of mechanical engineering, Leonardo designed a Paddle Vessel/Boat with Shovels to navigate easily over water and an Excavator/Dredger to clean the mud-clogged bottoms of canals with four revolving buckets while suspended between two boats. He also developed a Hydraulic Saw.

Military Machinery

Leonardo's designs for some of his water-related devices had military applications. These include: a Boat with a Double Hull that would stay afloat if its outer layer were breached; a submarine; a Vessel with Scythe (Escorpio) to slash an enemy ship's sails; and a rotating single-gun Naval Cannon. Perhaps the invention with the most far-reaching consequences was an Underwater Breathing Device. It was meant to be worn by Venetians walking on the seabed so they could perforate the bottoms of invading hostile fleets.

For dangerous land confrontations, Leonardo envisioned an armor-plated turtle-shaped Tank mounted with cannons. Maneuvering through combat zones was to be achieved by eight men internally turning cranks attached to the vehicle's wheels.

Mechanics

In the area of mechanics, Leonardo's Study of Perpetual Motion, an examination of momentum, disproved the 12th-century Indian notion that a wheel could run forever. The prolific scientist investigated a system of Pulleys, machines known since ancient times, for the lifting of heavy objects during the construction of yards and foundries. He proposed a Gearshift similar to that used in today's cars and a programmable self-propelled Robotic Automobile.

Sources:

• Bambach, Carmen (ed.), et al. Leonardo da Vinci: Master Draftsman (exh. cat.). New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2003.
• Galluzzi, Paolo. Mechanical Marvels: Invention in the Age of Leonardo (exh. cat.). Florence: Instituto e Museo di Storia della Scienza, 1997.
• Kemp, Martin. Leonardo da Vinci: Experience, Experiment and Design (exh. cat.). London: Victoria & Albert Museum, 2006.
• Leonardo da Vinci: Codex Leicester (A Masterpiece of Science) (exh. cat.). New York: American Museum of Natural History, 1996.