A new temporary exhibit highlighting the work of Leonardo da Vinci opened Sept. 24 at THEMUSEUM in Downtown Kitchener.
Titled “Leonardo da Vinci – 500 Years of Genius,” the exhibit showcases the famous polymath’s innovations in the arts and sciences.
“I hope people question it, think about it, try to imagine what he was attempting, and have some form of transformative connection,” said David Marskell, CEO of THEMUSEUM.
Marskell first saw the exhibit during its tenure at the Philip and Patricia Frost Museum of Science in Miami, Florida. “I thought, ‘we’ve got to bring this back [to Kitchener],'” he said. The next seven months were spent collaborating with exhibit creator Grande Experiences and the Museo Leonardo da Vinci in Rome to bring the collection to its current home in Kitchener.
“We don’t have a collection, having come from being a children’s museum, so we have the ability to be more enterpreneurial and flexible,” Marskell said of THEMUSEUM. He hopes that the exhibit will appeal to a broader audience than in previous years and invite visitors to gain inspiration from Da Vinci’s work.
While Da Vinci is best known for his paintings, he also worked as a military engineer and stage designer during his lifetime. He designed theatre costumes and war machines while also studying botany, anatomy, and physics.
Some of his notes and artwork survive, but many others have been lost to time or never made it off the page. “Much of this Leonardo never took past the drawing stage; he would perhaps get bored with it or he’d do what he set out to accomplish, and then move on;” stated Marskell. Most artifacts in the exhibit are life-sized recreations of tools and concepts from Da Vinci’s notes, like his “aerial screw” (a precursor to the modern helicopter) and a cone-shaped military tank designed for the Duke of Milan.
A reproduction of Da Vinci’s “aerial screw” in the exhibit. (Photo credit: Angela Li)
Visitors can also engage with an interactive display comparing their body proportions to the Vitruvian Man model, take a figure drawing class, or watch a 26-minute film about Da Vinci projected 360 degrees in the EYEPOOL, a digital immersive gallery. The venue’s workshop area, MakerSpace, will also feature family-friendly activities exploring Da Vinci’s innovations like his self-supporting bridge and studies in hand anatomy.
Outside of the exhibit, the museum will also host Da Vinci Dialogues, a series of talks focused on the legacy of Da Vinci’s work across fields, ranging from aviation to Italian architecture.
“I hope this is an inspiration and I hope this is a catalyst for … a student to really sort of squint and say …’I really want to follow this path or passion,’ whether it be [in] school or creativity,” Marskell said about the exhibit and future programming.
Admission to the museum costs $18.99 with a valid student ID. Separate admission to Da Vinci Dialogues is free with a museum membership or can be purchased online through the museum’s event calendar.
“Leonardo da Vinci – 500 Years of Genius” will run until February 2027.
