Nomad Press
Amazing Leonardo da Vinci Inventions: Make Your Own Plastic
When you hear Leonardo da Vinci mentioned, chances are that you think of the Mona Lisa, or flying machines—but what about plastic? Learners blend heavy cream and vinegar over heat to replicate da Vinci's early organic plastic recipe.
Curated OER
Leonardo da Vinci: Creative Genius
Pupils discuss how Leonardo Da Vinci reflected the spirit of the Renaissance. They examine his achivements and explain the significance of his notebooks. They write essays on what constitutes a "rRenaissance man."
Evergreen Exhibitions
Leonardo da Vinci: Machines in Motion
Motion is the focus of ten hands-on activities that challenge scholars to build machines invented by Leonardo da Vinci. Following several steps, small groups work collaboratively to recreate machines including levers, pulleys, wheels,...
Curated OER
The Invention of the Parachute
Students study the invention of the parachute and how Leonardo da Vinci came up with the design. In this aerodynamics lesson students test the properties that make parachutes more efficient.
Curated OER
Inventor's Workshop
Students explore the six simple machines that are the basis for all mechanical devices. In this physics lesson, students choose one simple machine to research and then find a complex machine it is apart of. Students examine Leonardo...
Curated OER
Leonardo's Machines
Students explore Leonardo da Vinci's ideas about design and machines.
Curated OER
Recycle Inventions
Learners examine the drawings of Leonardo da Vinci's flying machines and discuss when they were conceptualized and how they are similar to today's flight vehicles. They collect recyclables such as wood and foam trays and create an...
Curated OER
The Art of "Green" Flying
Students create an airship that doesn't use fossil fuel. In this flying lesson, students research different types of flying machines that only use wind power. They discuss invention designs by Alexander Graham Bell and Leonardo Da Vinci...
Museum of Science
Gadget Anatomy: Understanding Machines
Students observe a machine closely from several angles while it operates. Identify the elements of machines combined in different gadgets. Create a clear diagram of how a machine works.
Curated OER
The Invention of the Airplane
Students explore the history of the airplane and the Wright brothers. In this aviation lesson students examine the Wright brothers stories and kites.
Curated OER
Internet Inventors Scavenger Hunt
In this inventors scavenger hunt learning exercise, students research 10 different significant inventors known to history. First, they read each question to determine which inventor to search for using the Internet. Then, students write...
Curated OER
Depth Line
Young scholars use adding machine tape to plot increasing ocean depths and deep sea historical events.
Curated OER
Build Your Own Parachute
Students study the basics of parachuting. In this flight and aerodynamics lesson plan students make a simple parachute and investigate different variables that can cause potential problems.
Museum of Science
Museum of Science (Boston): Leonardo's Mysterious Machines
A game that showcases the inventive genius of Leonardo da Vinci, who made drawings of helicopters, planes, and tanks long before these machines ever became modern-era realities. Have fun learning about Leonardo's many ideas while you...
Museum of Science
Museum of Science: Leonardo's Visions of the Future
This site from The Museum of Science includes modern machines that Leonardo da Vinci first designed. Original sketches of Leonardo's machines also included.
A&E Television
History.com: Inventions & Science
Inventions from the telephone to the Model T and the computer have defined human history, and inventors like Leonardo da Vinci, Nikola Tesla, Thomas Edison, Eli Whitney and Alexander Graham Bell have transformed our society.
Great Idea Finder
The Great Idea Finder: Adding Machine
The Great Idea Finder profiles the adding machine, invented by nineteen-year old mathematician Blaise Pascal in the year 1642.