Renaissance inventors changed the world with its forward thinking and science and art were very much intertwined at this time. Also, look at my unit study and lapbook Renaissance 1300 to 1600.
Leonardo Da Vinci was an amazing artist.
However, he also dabbled in architecture, anatomical studies, cartography, civil engineering, chemistry, geology, geometry, hydrodynamics, mathematics, mechanical engineering, optics, physics, pyrotechnics, and zoology.
The Renaissance is credited as being the bridge between the Middle Ages and modern-day civilization.
Next, look at this list of living books about Leonardo Da Vinci.
Leonardo Da Vinci Books for Kids Who Love to Read and Be Read To
Add a few of these books to your library about Leonardo Da Vinci and his fascinating life.
Based on thousands of pages from Leonardo da Vinci’s astonishing notebooks and new discoveries about his life and work, Walter Isaacson “deftly reveals an intimate Leonardo” (San Francisco Chronicle) in a narrative that connects his art to his science. He shows how Leonardo’s genius was based on skills we can improve in ourselves, such as passionate curiosity, careful observation, and an imagination so playful that it flirted with fantasy.
Amazing Leonardo da Vinci Inventions You Can Build Yourself introduces readers to the life, world, and incredible mind of Leonardo da Vinci through hands-on building projects that explore his invention ideas. Most of Leonardo's inventions were never made in his lifetime. They remained sketches in his famous notebooks. Amazing Leonardo da Vinci Inventions. You Can Build Yourself shows you how to bring these ideas to life using common household supplies. Detailed step-by-step instructions, diagrams, and templates for creating each project combine with historical facts and anecdotes, biographies and trivia about the real-life models for each project. Together they give kids a first-hand look into the amazing mind of one the world’s greatest inventors.
Leonardo's inventions went way beyond art. Fascinating picture book.
The Art of Leonardo Da Vinci.
"Filled with engaging details of Leonardo and his world. . . . Illustrations which range from utterly recognizable scenes of Florence to the ghostly horses at Leonardo's deathbed. . . . An unusual biography for young people, and one well worth poring over . . . . A unique way of picturing a unique world . . . . An extraordinary tribute."
Leonardo da Vinci was a gifted painter, talented musician, and dedicated scientist and inventor, designing flying machines, submarines, and even helicopters. Yet he had a hard time finishing things, a problem anyone can relate to. Only thirteen paintings are known to be his; as for the illustrated encyclopedia he intended to create, all that he left were thousands of disorganized notebook pages. Here is an accessible portrait of a fascinating man who lived at a fascinating
time—Italy during the Renaissance.
In The Renaissance Inventors with History Projects for Kids, readers 10 through 15 explore the period of European history from the fourteenth to seventeenth centuries while focusing on the biographies of five inventors from that time and the creations they brought to the world. The lives of Leonardo da Vinci, Galileo Galilei, Leon Battista Alberti, Johannes Gutenberg, and Gerardus Mercator are brought to life as kids discover the challenges these men faced and the discoveries they made using their critical and creative thinking skills combined with their passion for science and engineering.
Imagine a world without inventors and scientists. How would people understand the environment around them? What new technologies would improve people's lives? During the Renaissance, inventors and other creative thinkers designed and constructed many new things, including a more accurate map that showed the spherical Earth on a flat paper, a printing press that brought books beyond just the realm of the rich, and a machine that measured the speed of the wind. In The Renaissance Inventors, readers learn about what it is to be an inventor, both now and in the past. They also discover how brainstorming and tinkering with everyday materials can lead to the development of great problem-solving skills, not to mention the creation of new inventions.
With 10 hands-on projects that use the engineer design process, kids create their own versions of many amazing inventions from the Renaissance. Activities such as making a parachute and creating a globe from an orange let middle schoolers stretch their inventive wings and learn what it’s like to be an inventor. Fun facts, primary source illustrations, fun STEAM activities, and links to online resources all spark an interest in the Renaissance. Even without a time machine, learners can experience the Renaissance!
The Renaissance Inventors is one of a set of four books in the Renaissance for Kids series. Books in the Renaissance for Kids series invite readers ages 10 to 15 to learn about the inventors, artists, explorers, philosophers, scientists, and politicians who lived in Europe and around the world during the Renaissance and who made contributions to the wealth of human knowledge and experience that have lasted far into the future. Primary sources, color photography, relevant quotes, and hands-on STEAM activities that promote the scientific method or engineering design process keep even the most curious kids satisfied! Titles in this series include The Renaissance Thinkers: With History Projects for Kids; The Renaissance Inventors: With History Projects for Kids; The Renaissance Artists: With History Projects for Kids; and The Renaissance Explorers: With History Projects for Kids.
When Jack and Annie got back from their adventure in Magic Tree House Merlin Mission #10: Monday with a Mad Genius, they had lots of questions. Why was Leonardo da Vinci interested in flight? What are some of his most famous painting? Did he really keep noteboooks just like Jack? What do scientists today think of his ideas? Find out the answers to these questions and more as Jack and Annie track the facts.
Let’s learn about some of these incredible Renaissance Inventors, what they made that changed the world.
And even make our own hands-on version of the submarine to incorporate some of our own science.
Renaissance Inventors
- 1284- Eyeglasses were invented by Salvino D’Armate and were made of glass or crystal with a metal handle to hold them up to the eyes.
- 1440- At this time, Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press which is commonly believed to be the most important invention of the world because it gave us the ability to distribute information faster to a larger audience.
- 1515– While not the inventor, Leonardo da Vinci, is credited with sketching a primitive submarine. Ironically, Leonardo did not reveal his idea for a submarine “because of the evil nature of men who practice assassination at the bottom of the sea.” It would become developed later by Dutch inventor Cornelis Drebbel.
- 1608- The telescope was developed and patented by Hans Lippershey and gave us the ability to make very distant things seem closer.
- 1656- With the use of the pendulum, Galileo Galilei’s invention in 1581. Mechanical clocks were greatly improved upon by increasing their accuracy and were created by Pope Sylvester II, known as Gerbert.
Additionally, look at these hands-on activities for learning about the Renaissance.
Hands-on Renaissance Inventors Middle Ages Activities for Kids
- STEM: Build a Da Vinci Parachute Activity
- Middle Ages History: Make a Coat of Arms Activity
- Medieval Chemistry and Homeschool History: Fun Hands-On Activity
- Kids Free Glass Blowing Lapbook on The History Of Glass Blowing
- Fun Dragon Unit Study Ideas and Salt Dough Dragon Craft
- The Journey Through Time Book And Knights Armor Engraving Fun Kids Craft
- The Inventions of Leonardo Da Vinci
In addition, look at some facts about submarines.
How Does The Submarine Craft Work
A submarine or boat floats when the mass of water that it displaces is equal to the mass of the boat.
This displaced water causes an upward force called buoyancy. Buoyancy works in the opposite direction of gravity, allowing objects to float above.
While a sailboat cannot control its buoyancy, submarines are designed so that they can.
Submarines have ballast tanks that can be filled with water to make them more dense so that they can go down below the water or they can be filled with air that pushes all the water out and makes them buoyant again. Real submarines carry compressed air tanks on board to do this.
Our bottle works in much the same way, the bottle would actually be the ballast itself.
As the bottle submarine is filled with air it is buoyant and rests on the top of the water.
When you gently squeeze to fill the bottle with water it becomes more dense than the water surrounding it and is pulled down by gravitational forces.
When your straw submarine is in the water it is buoyant, the buoyant force competes against the gravitational pull that is pulling the straw down and the difference between the two forces decides how buoyant the submarine is, more water makes it more dense, more air increases its buoyancy.
Simply put- When you allow it to fill with water it sinks, as you blow the water out and fill it with air, it rises.
- Displace-Pushes out of the way.
- Buoyancy-The ability to float in water or air or some other fluid.
- Ballast-a heavy substance placed in such a way as to improve stability and control.
Finally, how to make a fascinating Da Vinci submarine craft.
How To Make A Fascinating Da Vinci Submarine Craft
You will need:
- An empty water bottle
- Bendy straw
- Coins
- Clay
- Rubber bands
- Large shallow container
- Water
- Sharp blade
First, use a sharp blade or the tip of a pen if the lid is soft enough and poke a hole just large enough for the straw to fit in.
Slide the short end of the bendy straw into the hole and press clay around it to seal it well.
Use a permanent marker to note three spots about 2” apart on one side of the bottle.
Then use a razor knife to cut out holes on these spots.
Make two stacks of quarters, a pile of 4 and a pile of 2. Tape each stack together. We are going to use these to give our submarine a bit of weight, like a ballast.
In between the holes you secure the quarters to the bottle with a rubber band, placing the larger stack nearer to the bottom of the bottle. Be sure not to cover the holes.
Now for the fun! Place your submarine into a large container of water, hole side down and allow it to fill with water until it sinks, but keep the straw above water.
What do you notice? The heavier end sinks, the end nearest to the straw with only air remains floating.
Blow into the straw to expel the water from the bottle and observe what happens now. The bottle, rather the submarine, rises.
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