Blog 5- Art websites for 'da Vinci Rocks"

www.bl.uk/onlinegallery/features/leonardo/leonardo.html
British Library's Leonardo da Vinci gallery

This website gives a great overview of Leonardo da Vinci but mainly focuses on his drawings and inventions. The site features three of his inventions that are showcased in the British Library's gallery: parachute, diving apparatus and glider. What is interesting is that modern day model makers, inventors and sky divers have recreated his inventions and actually tested them out. Reviews on how well the inventions worked in real life can be found in the pages of the cite. One of my favorite parts of the website was the last section called "Turning Pages." It is devoted to actual pages of Leonardo's notebooks that the library has in its collection and it has a reverse writing feature that lets you read the writng from its backwards state- alas, sadly, it is in Italian.  

http://www.leonardo3.net/leonardo/home.htm
leonardo 3 project

This is a website that focuses on the many exhibitons of Leonardo da Vinci's work throughout the world. The site takes you from exhibits in the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia around the globe to Italy and then, even to the Museum of Islamic Art in Qatar where they showcased "Codex on Flight," Leonardo's treatise on birds and flight.
                             

I especially like the Qatar exhibit. So often, my students tend to equate everything Islamic with a negative conotation.  This exhibit helps to open their eyes to how very cultured the Islamic world has been throughout the ages. Our Western world view of Islamic culture is sadly shaped by extremists and there is a whole population of peope out there who do not embrace the fundamentalist views of radical Islam. The Islamic culture was far more advanced than any early European society especially in the areas of medicine and science. I think this site would be a wonderful opportunitiy to help show my students that the Islamic culture is alive, intelligent and tuned in to the "giants of art." I would like them to visit the site, view the artwork and the accompaning commentary and then, write a critique and personal reflection of thier view of Islam after seeing the exhibit.