A staff member of the Iowa Learning Center prepares students for the Da Vinci exhibit before handing out wristbands and audio tours. (Bryan Stanford photo)
by Niamh Lyons & Alexa Wheaton
The Physics students toured the Science Center in Des Moines to view the traveling Leonardo Da Vinci Exhibit on Jan. 7.
The exhibit showed works from all the areas Da Vinci worked: his inventions, paintings, experiments, the human body, vehicles, architectural designs, statues and philosophies.
Each display had an explanation of how the model worked and some had more information on the audio tour. Some of the models were hands-on while others were just there to be seen.
A documentary film was playing in a room in the exhibit where Da Vinci’s life and some of his inventions and paintings were explained further.
The students who traveled to the Science Center were Garrett Ogan, Bryan Stanford, Spencer Roorda, Bret Rhodes, Vinny Buchanan, Alex Peck, Courtney Latcham, Shannon Sutfin, Katy McKee, Teona Sutfin and Niamh Lyons.
The science teacher who took the students, Carrie Weber, said, “I thoroughly enjoyed the exhibit and would recommend it to anyone. I believe it helped show the students the possibilities of physics. It also showed that imagination and determination can persevere through many obstacles of life.”
Some of the things students enjoyed most were the Mona Lisa replica, the parachute, the vitruvian man, a room full of mirrors, his explanations of the human body and the documentary.
Senior Bryan Stanford said he enjoyed “the Mona Lisa section the most because it was neat to see it and see how the colors were fading and deteriorating.”
