EDUCATION SUPPLEMENT - Riddoch Art Gallery · DA VINCI MACHINES EDUCATION SUPPLEMENT Page 2 ... Unit 2: Ideas and styles in artworks, ... Leonardo da Vinci made extraordinary advances

EDUCATION SUPPLEMENT

DA VINCI MACHINES EDUCATION SUPPLEMENT Page 2

INTRODUCTION PRIMARY PHYSICS is a book about the joy and

excitement of understanding what is really causing

things to happen in the physical world.

It also demonstrates in a hands-on way how one

man, Leonardo da Vinci, came to make his

bold and ingenious scientific contributions. Before

Leonardo could be innovative, he had to understand,

and to do that, he studied what already existed.

Here is a unique opportunity for children to follow

a step-by-step investigation into the principles which

cause effects in the world in which we live.

SEE THE WORLD IN A NEW WAY – AND ENJOY THE ADVENTURE

The content of this AWARD WINNING

book forms an integral part of the

educational program of the DA VINCI

MACHINES EXHIBITION.

Created and designed to give teachers and

students the opportunity to experience some

of the excitement and sense of achievement

of taking on tasks that will challenge them and

stretch what they think they can do.

Building a working model based on the ideas of

Leonardo da Vinci will stimulate the imagination,

be rewarding and will be fun.

The lessons have been specifically adapted to

sequentially build up an understanding of how

physics principles form the basis of Leonard’s

scientific investigations.

Building models based on

Leonardo’s drawings featuring:

• energy • mass • space • volume • forces

• friction • centre of mass • gravity

• density • wheels • pulleys • ramps

• wedges • screws • levers

• projects • outcomes • equipment list

• physics quiz • cartoons • and more


PRIMARY PHYSICS Developed for Exhibition by THE NICCOLAI GROUP

Written by Marti Ellen

Illustrated by Andrew Davies

Published by INT Press Pty Ltd

Reproductions of work from the Exhibition DA VINCI MACHINES

Organised by the Artisans of Florence Pty Ltd

About the author

Marti Ellen has a Master of Science from Stanford University, USA,

and a Diploma of Education from the Sydney Institute of Education,

Australia. She has taught physics to young children since 1985. She

has developed the Primary Physics concept and since 2000 has

trained students, teachers, and academics and promotes the

teaching of physics to young children in Australia.

About the illustrator

Andrew Davies is a graphic designer and illustrator. He has a

Bachelor of Design in Visual Communications from the University

of Technology, Sydney.

About the research and development of Da Vinci Machines

The models reproduced in this book are based on the machines

created by skilled craftsmen in the Florentine workshop of Niccolai

Teknoart SNC (THE NICCOLAI GROUP), headed up by father & son

team Carlo and Gabriele Niccolai.

Thanks go to the following for making this project possible

The Science Foundation for Physics for support and accreditation.

The Leonardo da Vinci Museum in Florence for valued affiliation.

Teachers and Schools for their advice and contribution.

Special thanks to Emeritus Professor Carlo Pedretti, UCLA, USA.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS


CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION – PRIMARY PHYSICS Page 2

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 3

TARGET AUDIENCES 5

TEACHING LEVELS 5

ABOUT LEONARDO DA VINCI 6

CODICES 7

ABOUT THE EXHIBITION 8

SUGGESTED SCHOOL VISIT ACTIVITIES 9

LESSONS

LESSON 1 – ENERGY 10

LESSON 2 – GRAVITY 11

LESSON 3 – PULLEYS 12

LESSON 4 – ART – MONA LISA 13

OUTCOMES, HELPFUL HINTS 14

PRIMARY PHYSICS EQUIPMENT LIST 15


TEACHING LEVELS

Suitable for all school levels through to University, offering the potential for

students to achieve a number of Outcomes in their own state’s Curriculum and

Assessment Framework - Primary, Secondary and Tertiary Studies.

Primary Levels: Art (Exploring and responding), History (Historical knowledge and understandings, Historical reasoning and interpretation), Design, Creativity and Technology (Analysing and evaluating), LOTE (Intercultural knowledge and language awareness), Science (Science knowledge and understanding, Science at work) Thinking Processes (Inquiry, Reflection, Evaluation). Secondary Levels: Art (Exploring and responding), History (Historical knowledge and understandings, Historical reasoning and interpretation), Physics, Italian, Design, Creativity and Technology (Analysing and evaluating), LOTE (Intercultural knowledge and language awareness), Science (Science knowledge and understanding, Science at work) Thinking Processes (Inquiry, Reflection, Evaluation), Visual Communication and Design (Exploring and responding). Various Studies: Art (Unit 1: Art and meaning, Unit 2: Art and culture, Unit 3: Interpreting art, Unit 4: Discussing and debating art), Physics, Design and Technology, Italian History, Systems Engineering, Studio Arts (Unit 1: Interpretation of art ideas and use of materials and techniques, Unit 2: Ideas and styles in artworks, Unit 3: Professional art practices and styles, Unit 4: Art industry contexts), Visual Communication and Design (Unit 2: Communication in context). Tertiary studies: Art, Art-History, Cultural Studies, Design, Engineering, Graphic Design, History, Science, Physics, Technology and Woodcraft.

TARGET AUDIENCES

The Exhibition explores how through the power of observation and experimentation

Leonardo da Vinci made extraordinary advances in every discipline in which he worked: he

was an inventor, mathematician, artist, anatomist, scientist, architect, engineer and musician.

It demonstrates his approach and understanding of the basic physical principles behind every-

thing that happens and provides Schools and Teachers with the opportunity to integrate a

variety of subjects into classroom programs, such as science, physics, engineering, history,

mechanics, mathematics, culture and art.


Leonardo da Vinci was born 15 April 1452,

in the Tuscan hill town of Vinci, in the lower

valley of the Arno River in the territory of

Florence. He was the illegitimate son of Piero

da Vinci, a Florentine notary, and Caterina,

a peasant girl.

As a child Leonardo showed advanced genius

in math, music and art. His greatest desire

was to be apprenticed to a painter, a prof-

ession which was looked down upon at the

time. Eventually, his father was worn down by

Leonardo’s undeniable talent, and took him to

Florence to study painting, sculpting and

engineering under the great Andrea del

Verrocchio.

Leonardo quickly outstripped his master

(though he continued to study with

Verrocchio until around 1476) and was

admitted to the Florence painters' guild in

1472. Only 16 paintings directly attributed to

Leonardo da Vinci survive, the most famous

being the Mona Lisa. There are others that

remain contentious, or those that are actually

lost.

Leonardo lived during a period of great cultural

change and achievement known as the Italian

High Renaissance which peaked in the late 15th

century. He is regarded as one of the great

masters of the High Renaissance, a celebrated

painter, also sculptor, architect, engineer, and

scientist. His profound love of knowledge and

research was the keynote of both his artistic

and scientific endeavours. His innovations in

the field of painting influenced the course of

Italian art for more than a century after his

death, and his scientific studies, particularly in

the fields of anatomy, optics, and hydraulics,

anticipated many of the developments of

modern science.

By 1516, Leonardo was spending his final years

happily in the service of the Francois 1, the

King of France and despite suffering from

partial paralysis in his hand, he continued

drawing, investigating, making notes and

inventing. On 2 May, 1519 Leonardo died at

Clos Luce and it is said he died with his head

resting in the arms of the King of France.

Ref: http://arthistory.about.com/cs/namesdd/leonardo.htm

ABOUT LEONARDO DA VINCI


DA VINCI CODICES

Leonardo da Vinci dedicated himself with passion to scientific

studies in anatomy, biology, mathematics and physics. His

manuscripts, known as Codices, exhibit keen scientific

observations and ingenuous solutions to the practical problems

of his time, and future possibilities such as flying machines and

automation.

When Leonardo died, all his writings and sketches were inherited by this trusted assistant and

scholar, Francesco Melzi, who kept them catalogued carefully, however after Melzi’s death most of

the work was lost, stolen, given away or destroyed. About a third of Leonardo’s manuscripts have

survived, most have been grouped by later scholars into Codices and Manuscripts, and they include:

ITALY Codice Atlantico (1478-1518)

Codice Trivulzianus (1478-1518)

Codice Marciano (c.1500)

Codice on the Flight of Birds

(c.1505)

UK Codice Arundel (1508)

Codice Forster (1487-1505)

Windsor Collection (1502-1513)

SPAIN Manuscripts Madrid I and Madrid II

(1503-1505)

FRANCE Paris Manuscripts (labelled A to M)

(1487-1515)

USA Codice Leicester (Hammer)

(1504-1506)

In addition, a number of individual drawings are

held in private collections throughout the world.

Tank Codex Arundel

British Museum F. 1030


SCHOOL EXCURSIONS

The DA VINCI MACHINES

EXHIBITION presents in

excess of 60 machines

reproduced from original

Da Vinci drawings.

Featuring his amazing flying machines, nautical,

hydraulic and architectural innovations, ground-

breaking applications of civil engineering and

incredible war machines. Included are 15 high

quality reproduction artworks, giant art panels,

computer animations, film screenings and rare

copies of Leonardo da Vinci Codices.

This interactive Exhibition allows students to look

into the mind of one of history’s most enduring

geniuses who lived 500 years ago and whose

lifelong quest was to know everything about

everything.


Simple machines focus - for Teachers

1. Ask students to look around.

2. Discuss what students have seen. Use this discussion to give basic information about the exhibition.

a. How and why the models were made in contemporary times b. The setting in which the original plans were drawn c. Some information on the originality of some designs and the way Leonardo used extant designs for other drawings

3. Send groups of students out to look at the ‘Please do not touch’ machines and to study one of their choice in particular.

a. One minute to choose a machine b. Study it, and its label, to work out what it does, how it does it and what the important components are c. Prepare a verbal explanation. Practice this so it is fluent

4. Collect the class together. Ask each group to join with another group and teach each other what they have just learned.

5. Collect as a class, and ask random students to share what they have just learned from the other groups. Add extra information to the explanations as appropriate.

6. Explain that most of the ‘Use with Care’ machines are components of the more complex machines. Tell students that they will be studying one of these simpler machines and explaining its workings to the class, but that this time they will need to use technical terms. Establish that they know the terms pulley, wheel, axle, cam, crank and any others considered appropriate, then send groups out to

choose a machine and practice their explanation. This will not take as long as the preceding activity.

7. Collect the class to listen to some of their explanations. Choose the simple machines you want to focus on and ask ‘Who picked this one?’ rather than selecting students. Add information as appropriate.

8. Reinforce the idea that the simple machines are used as parts of the more complex machines. Then challenge students to match one of the simple ‘Please Use with Care’ machines with a more complex machine in which it would be used. Ask them to repeat this with as many of the simple machines as possible. (Note; some simple components might not be visible in the more complex machine, but can be inferred from the way the machine works. E.g. ball bearings cannot be seen in the rotating gun turrets, but it would be reasonable to assume they are there.)

9. Conduct a treasure hunt.

a. You give a clue b. Groups of students find a machine that fits the clue c. The students analyse the machine they have identified and practice a verbal explanation of how it works d. After a reasonable time, collect the class together, select one group to take the class to their machine and explain its workings e. Then you give another clue and repeat the process using a new clue e.g.

i. A water machine ii. A war machine iii. A very clever invention iv. A very useful machine v. A machine that is in use today (even if a bit changed in form)

10. Hand out the activity sheets and give the students time to answer the questions.

SUGGESTED SCHOOL VISIT ACTIVITIES


LESSON 1 - ENERGY

Spring mechanism

• Storing energy

• Releasing energy


LESSON 2 - GRAVITY

Gravity

• Falling from a height

• Testing gravity


LESSON 3 - PULLEYS


LESSON 4 - ART

Can you copy the eyes? Copy the smile Copy the nose

The MONA LISA, painted by Leonardo da Vinci

is perhaps the most famous painting in history.

CAN YOU DRAW IN THE PAINTINGS

MISSING FEATURES, HER EYES, SMILE

AND NOSE?

Question:

Can you remember one of the reasons

why so many millions of people feel

that the MONA LISA is such a special painting?

Answer:

…………………………………………………………..

.………………………………………………………….


Energy

An introduction to the scientific methods

of observation, experimentation, and the

carrying out of set procedures. Energy 1

Do this simultaneously – it is more fun and

more dramatic! Everyone should hold the

handles of their bag in one hand and twist

ten full turns with the other hand. The

potential energy of the twisted bag

increases with greater mass put into the

bag. This is observed as the greater kinetic

energy of the spinning bag. The

relationship of more mass –> more energy

is the point we wish to make.

Gravity

These experiments introduce changing

and moving mass. The forces experiment

demonstrates three things: 1 left on its

own the mass will not move; (apart from

some very subtle flattening of the dough).

2 to push the mass along the table, one

feels the friction between the table and

the dough slowing the movement; and 3

when it goes over the edge, gravity takes

it to the floor.

Gravity (the falling force) is actually the

attraction between two masses: the

object and the planet, where, due to the

vast differences in the amount of mass

each has, the object appears to ‘fall’ to

the earth. In Gravity 1 we observe that the

longer an object falls the more its velocity

increases. This is evidenced by the

increasingly dramatic effect on the object

when it collides with the planet. It has

more kinetic energy; therefore more

energy is dissipated as the motion stops.

This is demonstrated by the distortion of

the shape of the dough.

Pulleys

Set this one up at the swings in a

playground. In this exercise you may hear

the remark, “It’s easier to lift the bucket

with my arm than with the pulley”. This

may be the case. However, the pulley may

allow children to lift something to a height

which would otherwise be impossible for

them to achieve.

Be very careful to ensure other students

are well away from the lifting area, as a

bucket of water dropped from a metre or

two would be dangerous.

OUTCOMES AND HELPFUL HINTS

IMPORTANT NOTE TO TEACHERS

It is important to review the main pieces of lesson at the beginning of the lesson. We are constructing a

platform of experience, from which the students will be able to deduce the concepts. Repetition helps

facilitate this process. Always practice experiments and demonstrations beforehand before you present

them. Then be prepared, as often happens, for something unexpected to occur, or a question to be asked

for which you are unprepared. GO WITH IT! Even if it means spending extra time on the subject, or going

and doing some research and reporting back. Good science comes from us, not the equipment. If you are

genuinely miffed by something, share it with the students and continue to experiment and investigate why.

They then will be part of the real journey of science.


PREPARATION LIST OF EQUIPMENT


Presented by

THE NICCOLAI GROUP (FIRENZE) ARTISANS OF FLORENCE PTY LTD

©2009 NICCOLAI SNC

Together with

THE MUSEUM OF LEONARDO DA VINCI, FLORENCE – ITALY

Under the Auspices of

Comune di Firenze (Florence) Professor Carlo Pedretti, UCLA (Los Angeles), Associazione Culturale – La Cittá Ideale (Vigevano)

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EDUCATION SUPPLEMENT - Riddoch Art Gallery · DA VINCI MACHINES EDUCATION SUPPLEMENT Page 2 ... Unit 2: Ideas and styles in artworks, ... Leonardo da Vinci made extraordinary advances