May 26 – September 2, 2012
In honor of Leonardo da Vinci’s 560th birthday, Whitaker Center is pleased to announce that the iconic inventor and artist will be a part of a blockbuster summer exhibition.
Beginning Saturday, May 26 guests will have the opportunity to explore Leonardo da Vinci: Machines in Motion in Harsco Science Center of Whitaker Center. The 5,000 square foot nationally touring exhibition features 40 life-sized interactive models of Leonardo’s inventions, based on the designs from this master engineer.
“Hands-on, highly interactive, combining art and science — Machines in Motion is a perfect fit with our mission,” said Dr. Michael Hanes, Whitaker Center President and CEO. “The opportunity to manipulate and explore these life-sized models of da Vinci’s imagination is an experience that will excite the scientist, as well as the artist that resides in all of us.”
Thousands of manuscripts, collectively named the “Codices,” contain da Vinci’s designs that were the precursors of many modern machines and devices. The displays featured in Machines in Motion have been faithfully constructed from da Vinci’s notebooks by a modern team of scientists and craftsmen, in the heart of the Renaissance,Florence,Italy.
Machines in Motion includes such visionary inventions as the helicopter and glider, the armored tank, the drive transmission, the printing press and the bicycle. The exhibition showcases fully operational artifacts, grouped into four categories linked to the four ancient elements ─ air, water, land and fire ─ which held a strong fascination for da Vinci.
“M&T is pleased to present the Leonardo da Vinci exhibit this summer at the Whitaker Center,” said Michael S. Murchie, M&T Bank Regional President of Central and Western PA. “This outstanding exhibit is the latest example of the high quality, nationally-recognized programming the Whitaker brings to the Harrisburg region. M&T supports educational initiatives such as this as part of our commitment to strengthening the communities we serve.”
Visitors are encouraged to touch and set the machines into ‘motion,’ combining a fascinating hands-on experience with an exploration of the principles da Vinci employed to create each machine. Leonardo da Vinci: Machines in Motion is sponsored by
M&T Bank, Bayer HealthCare, Bobby Rahal Toyota, and Country Meadows Retirement Communities. Special pricing applies for this exhibition. For more information, please visit whitakercenter.org or call 717/214-ARTS.
