UTAH VALLEY UNIVERSITY LDV WORKBOOK

LEONARDO DA VINCI PROJECT

Activity 1—Popsicle Bridge

Leonardo da Vinci was not only a famous artist, but also a famous inventor. Many of his journal sketches were ideas for inventions that we now use today. One of his inventions was a self-supporting bridge. The invention shows that a bridge, if created properly, didn’t have to be supported by anything. Its structure could support weight alone.

Challenge: In this challenge you will be designing a bridge. The bridge must be one foot in length, pleasing to the eye, and hold as much weight as possible without breaking. You may use only the materials you are given (although, you don’t have to use all of them) Materials needed:

● 25 popsicle sticks ● 3 feet of tape

Beginning Bridge Design:

Final Bridge Design:

1a. How much weight was your bridge able to hold before it broke? 1b. Were you surprised by this? Why or why not? 2. What about your design was successful? 3. What about your design was not successful? Objective: Students will be able to identify self-supporting bridges with Leonardo da Vinci. They will become familiar with elementary building techniques and simple physics.

Activity 2—Vitruvian Man

This rendering of the Vitruvian Man, completed in 1490, is fundamentally different than others in two ways: The circle and square image overlaid on top of each other to form one image. A key adjustment was made that others had not done and thus were forced to make disproportionate appendages. Leonardo’s famous drawings of the Vitruvian proportions of a man’s body first standing inscribed in a square and then with feet and arms outspread

inscribed in a circle provides an excellent early example of the way in which his studies of proportion fuse artistic and scientific objectives.

Challenge: Show an image of Vitruvian Man. Explain that the length of outstretched arms equals top of head to bottom of foot (most people automatically assume their arms to be a shorter length than their height). Put students in teams of 2 or 3, and have them measure one another's height compared to their outstretched arms (outstretched arm length should be approximately equal to body height). Students record and compare their findings. This might work best with kids laying on the floor. Materials Needed:

● Cloth tape measures (Two students per tape measure)

List of possible mysterious features:

1. What about your measuring was successful? What was unsuccessful?

2. Did you think your arms would equal your height?

3. What was the hardest part about this project?

4. Discuss why Leonardo da Vinci’s ‘Vitruvian Man’ is so famous. Objective: Students will be able to relate the famous drawing to Leonardo da Vinci.

Activity—3 Mona Lisa Puzzle The Mona Lisa is one of the most famous paintings in the world. It was painted by Leonardo da Vinci between 1503 and

1506. The expression of the woman is famous and mysterious, it has been talked about for many years.

The painting has been stolen and damaged many times. It has had rocks and cups thrown at it, and has had red paint thrown on it. The Mona Lisa is now smaller than it originally was. Challenge: Students will be given a 4 x 4 square of blank, white paper. They will also be given an area on a gridded picture of the Mona Lisa. They will try to recreate their designated square to the best of their abilities and be creative with it. When students are done, all of the squares will be taped to a board and ‘the puzzle’ will resemble the original painting. Materials Needed:

● rulers ● 4 x 4 squares of blank paper ● crayons or colored pencils ● blown up and gridded picture of the Mona Lisa ● tape ● thick cardstock board (to tape puzzle pieces to)

1. Did you feel like your small drawing was going to fit in with everyone else's in the class? Why?

2. What was the hardest part about this project? Objective: Students will be able to identify the Mona Lisa painting and will be aware of the enigmatic expression and the little details that make it famous.

Activity 4— Catapult

The catapult was invented many years before Leonardo da Vinci, but he saw that he could make some improvements. He designed what is known as the single arm catapult. He wanted a cup at the end of a long post to hold a projectile in place. The gentle scoop would help the ‘ammo’ release smoothly. To engage the invention, all you would have to do is hit the release lever. Challenge: Students will create their own catapult. Referring to the top picture on the left, students will fasten popsicle sticks together with rubber bands. On one stick, the cap will be glued to the end and then will be fastened to the base popsicle stick. Students can decorate their new creation with markers and stickers. Materials Needed:

● popsicle sticks ● a milk or water cap ● rubber bands, markers ● hot glue

QUESTIONS:

1. Was your catapult successful? What about it could have been

better?

2. Describe why you think Leonardo’s improvements on the catapult were important and useful.

Objective: Students will be able to identify the relation of the catapult to Leonardo da Vinci, and will learn physics relating to launching projectiles.

Activity 5— The Last Supper

The Last Supper is a late 15th-century mural painting by Leonardo da Vinci, and is one of the world's most recognizable paintings.

The work is presumed to have been started around 1495–96 and was commissioned as part of a plan of renovations to the church.

Challenge: Show the Last Supper. Explain how the horizontal lines of the windows, ceiling, and room appear in the painting as diagnosis in “linear perspective”.

Materials Needed:

● pencils ● printed out photo of the Last Supper ● rulers ● B&W half sheet photocopies of Last Supper

1. If you trace the diagonal lines so they continue toward Jesus, where do they all meet? What are they “pointing” at?

2. Why do you think Leonardo put a light-colored window right behind Jesus’ head?

Objective: Students will be able to recognize one of Leonardo’s da Vinci’s most famous drawing and understand it’s composition.

Activity 6–– Mirror Writing

Not only did Leonardo write with a special kind of shorthand that he invented himself, he also mirrored his writing, starting at the right side of the page and moving to the left. Only when he was writing something intended for other people did he write in the normal direction.

The purpose of his mirror writing is unknown, but one idea is that it may have kept his hands clean. People who were contemporaries of Leonardo left records that they saw him write and paint left handed. He also made sketches showing his own left hand at work. As a lefty, this mirrored writing style would have prevented him from smudging his ink as he wrote. Materials Needed: Paper, pencils, pens, markers and mirrors. Challenge:

1. Distribute paper and pencils and encourage students to try writing their signatures in cursive from right to left. This is challenging! If students have trouble forming letters in reverse, they should try the following exercise:

2. Hold a pencil in each hand. Simultaneously, write backwards with the usual writing hand while writing forwards with the opposite hand. Having the one hand mirror the other hand's action may help the brain coordinate the movements.

3. Have the students experiment with writing backwards alphabets and backwards sentences.

4. Have them write backwards with pens and markers to make comparisons. Is one kind of writing tool easier to use this way than another?

5. Distribute mirrors and show students how to position them to one side of their backwards writing to read it normally. A mirror also lets them check to see if they actually reversed all letters properly.

6. Suggest that they try writing backwards messages to a partner who can then decipher them with a mirror.

QUESTIONS:

1. Why do you think Leonardo wrote in reverse?

2. Did left-handed or right-handed students have an easier time writing backwards?

3. Which medium (pencil, pen, or marker) seemed best for writing backwards?