Welcome to
Though this site was designed to be most appropriate for students in grades four through eight, many of the activities can be adapted for younger or older students as needed. Feel free to use the site in any way that makes sense to you, but please take a few minutes to read this page to understand how the site is organized and to find out how to get the most from it.

Leonardo da Vinci may seem an unusual topic to study in science. But the more you learn about this remarkable Renaissance man, the more you will realize that he was a terrific role model for applying the scientific method creatively in every aspect of life including art and music. Although he is best known for his dramatic and expressive artwork, Leonardo also conducted dozens of carefully thought out experiments and created futuristic inventions in a time before modern science and invention had really begun.

We suggest you begin your classroom investigation of Leonardo da Vinci by asking your students what they have read or heard about him: Where did he live? When did he live? Why is he famous? You may want to have them make a written list of their initial ideas for comparison at the end of their study of Leonardo.

Next, schedule time for your students to investigate this web site on their own to find out more about Leonardo. After a while, hold a discussion to let them share what they have learned and generate their own questions about Leonardo. More time exploring this site, or using the additional resources, will allow them to answer many of their questions and generate others to investigate.

Eventually you will probably want steer your class towards investigating one or more of the areas in which Leonardo experimented and explored. To help you, this site contains several interactive components and suggested classroom activities to aid your explorations of two thematic areas: perspective and inventions.

This web site has four main content sections:

• Inventor's Workshop highlights some of Leonardo's futuristic inventions, introduces the elements of machines, lets students explore how these elements can work together to perform new functions, and gives students a chance to try analyzing Leonardo's inventions and designing their own.
  Leonardo's Perspective introduces Leonardo's way of looking at the world and explores Renaissance techniques for representing the 3D world on 2D surfaces.
  What, Where, When? is a brief biography of Leonardo da Vinci with images.
  Leonardo: Right to Left explores Leonardo's curious habit of writing in reverse.

This web site has four pages with cool interactive elements

• Playing Around With Size and Distance
  Exploring Linear Perspective
  Investigating Aerial Perspective
  Gadget Anatomy

This web site has five lesson plans for hands-on classroom activities to extend learning:

• Classroom Activity: Leonardo Right to Left
  Classroom Activity: Leonardo's Window
  Classroom Activity: How Far? How Small?
  Classroom Activity: Sketching Gadget Anatomy
  Classroom Activity: Be Inventive!

This web site supports three opportunities for students to communicate their ideas electronically:

• Classroom Activity: How Far? How Small?
  Classroom Activity: Leonardo's Mysterious Machinery
  Classroom Activity: Be Inventive!

This site is an experiment in progress.
Please let us know what you think and how we can improve the site to make it more useful.
You can send e-mail to the Science Learning Network staff at sln@mos.org.

We hope you enjoy


Best Wishes,

The Science Learning Network Staff at the Museum of Science, Boston.