The Daily Gamecock

Issue date: 10/1/08 Section: The Mix

The state museum is hosting a Da Vinci exhibit which showcases his inventions.

Leonardo Da Vinci, an illegitimate child, renowned painter and all-around Renaissance man, has captivated the minds of our generation. Ever since "The Da Vinci Code" has sparked interest for a greater look into the mind of this genius, it seems nobody can get enough of the history behind the man.

There is no better place to start this quest for knowledge than the South Carolina State Museum. Its new exhibit, "Leonardo Da Vinci: Machines in Motion"gives insight into a portion of his mind.

When entering the exhibit, the first area represents Da Vinci's aerial inventions. Da Vinci grew up studying art, and because of that, spent a great deal of time in nature, observing his surroundings. He became obsessed with birds, and the idea of flight. It led him to try and develop ways in which man can emulate them. Knowing this, it made the walkthrough much more interesting. Viewing all the structures whilst walking through, one can really see into the mind of Da Vinci.

Because Da Vinci spent so much time in nature, he was very keen on the idea of man and nature coexisting together. He was quite the green thinker. One of his machines, which was built to scale and fully operational, showed an automatic saw that was designed to cut wood and powered completely by a water wheel. Using simple mechanics, levers and pulleys, he constructed tons of devices that would perform everyday tasks like drawing water from a nearby lake.

One of the most amazing things about the exhibit is how interactive everything is. Almost everything there is hands-on and fully operational. It is amazing how the creators of the exhibits derive so much, simply from his journals and drawings. Because Leonardo was an artist, he had meticulously detailed all of his work, and it's clear when observing the structures. They are all built and designed exactly as Da Vinci himself would have constructed them during the Renaissance. The selection includes his early design of a military tank, complete with four-wheel drive and movable cannons. Viewers of this exhibit can actually walk into the tank, experiencing firsthand what a solider would have during the renaissance.

Neil Bankar, a third-year economics student, was completely astounded by the intricacy of the exhibit.

"My favorite part definitely has to be how everything is historically accurate," Bankar said. "The fact that I can crank the levers and use the same machines that they did back in the day is awesome."

Columbia is the exhibit's second stop on its worldwide tour. It runs from Oct. 1 to Jan. 4, and the tour costs $5. This is truly a one-of-a-kind experience for any history or engineering buff, or for anybody with an interest Da Vinci.

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