Venice Trip: Leonardo da Vinci Exhibit

Our very Italian-looking hotel room

The hotel had a charming terrace with room for at 25 people to lounge around. The kids took full advantage while David was checking out.

We decided the da Vince exhibit was worth a look, so we walked back to San Barnabas.

Waiting for the exhibit to open, we watched as people and businesses from the neighborhood brought their garbage to the canal edge. Tuesday must be trash day. Soon enough, the garbage truck came by -- in this case, the little garbage barge with the mechanical arm.

Resting up a bit. David had a spill from James' ripstick Sunday morning and his wrist has been bothering him ever since. Here in Venice, he has been constantly picking Rebecca up and putting her on his shoulders and it seems to be taking a toll on his sore wrist. We have been monitoring the swelling and color change with concern, but it doesn't stop Becca from requesting shoulder rides, because, as she puts it as we walk around, "But Dad, I am so smaller."

Angelic Emilie with Leonardo's wings

Inside "Leonardo da Vinci Machines Museum" exhibit which presents over 50 models entirely reproduced from da Vinci's notebooks.  Many of the pieces were interactive. To overcome points of inertia and to increase momentum, he drew a series of flywheels, either equipped with wheels or provided with weights.

Da Vinci is often credited with drawing the first roller bearing around the year 1500.

There were many war machines, including ships. A sickle is mounted on a wooden pole moved by a pinwheel and tears the sails of enemy ships with a 360-degree rotation.

There were several different pulley systems.

"A connecting rod is a mechanical member, placed between two pieces of a machine in order to transform reciprocating rectilinear motion into continuous rotary motion." Yikes. This exhibit was mindboggling. Looking around at the incredible variety of inventions, we were convinced da Vince had been a time traveler from the future. There was no other way to explain all this.

A perfectly functioning model of a bicycle.

Leonardo developed a machine for gliding flight that pilots can control by changing the center of gravity moving only the upper part of their body.

A flying machine with bird wings: a set of belts tie the pilot, supine, on a wooden surface. The pilot pushes the pedals with his feet, thus setting the wings in motion.

Floating skis. We recalled seeing a Mythbusters where Adam tried a similar invention to walk on water, but it didn't work well.

Machine gun

Horse sculpture designed after da Vinci's drawings

In this study, Leonardo shows how to lift heavy loads without any effort. In fact the weight to be lifted is equally distributed on the various pulleys. We had the exhibit all to ourselves the entire time.