Leonardo da Vinci’s parachute design
An army tank? A parachute? A machine gun? A bicycle? All these and more were developed by the creative genius, Leonardo da Vinci, in the late 15th century! This is part 3 of a 3 part hands-on unit study on Leonardo da Vinci: The Artist, Scientist, & Inventor. This lesson will cover his work as an inventor. Join us as we recreate and test out Leonardo da Vinci’s inventions! These lessons are geared toward 3rd-4th grade level children and their siblings. They were created by another creative teacher for a weekly homeschool co-op. We meet each week for 2 1/2 hours and have 16 children between the ages of 1-13. This can also be used as a stand-alone lesson done with your family if you are studying CC Cycle 2 Week 6 History on Leonardo da Vinci as an inventor. Use these fun lessons with your class, family, or homeschool co-op group!
Leonardo da Vinci: The Inventor Lesson Plan
Neo Leo by Gene Barretta focuses on Leonardo da Vinci as an inventor and shares about his designs and what they look like now.
- Pray. Read & discuss Colossians 3:23.
- Review what we have learned about Leonardo da Vinci.
- Read Neo Leo by Gene Barretta.
YOU WILL NEED:
- Neo Leo by Gene Barretta or other book focused on Leonardo da Vinci as an inventor
Leonardo da Vinci’s ornithopter
- Have children create models of Leonardo da Vinci’s inventions.
- If desired, look through Amazing Leonardo da Vinci Inventions You Can By Yourself by Maxine Anderson and select one or two inventions to try to replicate. I chose the ornithopter and parachute because they looked the easiest. My children wanted to make the trebuchet, but we ran out of time.
- Show children Leonardo da Vinci’s design for an ornithopter. Ask them what they think it would have been used for. Do they think it would really fly?
- Lay out paper towel tubes, rubber bands, hole punches, poster-board paper, dowel rods or shish-kabob skewers, scissors, tape, and markers and have children try to replicate it. Do not direct them on how to do this as it is a discovery-learning activity focused on inventiveness.
- Give children time to play with their creations.
YOU WILL NEED:
- Amazing Leonardo da Vinci Inventions You Can By Yourself by Maxine Anderson (optional)
- Materials to make an ornithopter replica such as: paper towel tubes, rubber bands, hole punches, poster-board paper, dowel rods or shish-kabob skewers, scissors, tape, and markers
Leonardo da Vinci’s Parachute
Leonardo da Vinci’s design for a parachute
My son’s replica of Leonardo da Vinci’s design for a parachute
- Show children Leonardo da Vinci’s design for a parachute. Ask them what they think it would have been used for. Do they think it would really work?
- Lay out paper, tape, string, heavy objects (like a washer), scissors, tape, and markers and have children try to replicate it. Do not direct them on how to do this as it is a discovery-learning activity focused on inventiveness.
- Give children time to play with their creations.
YOU WILL NEED:
- Amazing Leonardo da Vinci Inventions You Can By Yourself by Maxine Anderson (optional)
- Materials to make a parachute replica such as: paper, tape, thin string, heavy objects (like a washer), scissors, tape, and markers
Review
- Ask the children if they think Leonardo da Vinci’s inventions would actually work. (Most of the children thought they wouldn’t really work as a full-scale model.) Show clips from Leonardo: The Man Who Wanted To Know Everything to show modern people recreating and testing Leonardo da Vinci’s parachute, army tank, para-glider & scuba gear.
- Five minute review of what we’ve learned today.
Leonardo: The Man Who Wanted To Know Everything by BBC
We really enjoyed this movie and learned quite a bit from it. It does have a few minutes focusing on the rumors of his inappropriate dealings with young males, but that can be easily skipped over if you stay alert while watching it.
The Re-Inventors: da Vinci Chariot (History Channel Series)
More of Our Favorite Children’s Books on Leonardo da Vinci & His Inventions
The Genius of Leonardo by Guido Visconti – Images are from amazon.com
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- The Genius of Leonardo by Guido Visconti is an enjoyable picture book about Leonardo painting the Mona Lisa and the Last Supper and also inventing his flying machine.
- Leonardo: Beautiful Dreamer by Robert Byrd tells the story of how Leonardo da Vinci was always dreaming up various inventions.
- Uh-oh, Leonardo!: The Adventures of Providence Traveler by Robert Sabuda is a really cute picture book that casts Leonardo da Vinci as a mouse. It follows him as he creates all his inventions. It was one of our absolute favorites!
- Leonardo and the Flying Boy by Laurence Anholt is a nice picture book about a young apprentice who helps Leonardo da Vinci as he creates his flying machine.
- Leonardo Da Vinci: Dreams, Schemes, and Flying Machines by Heinz Kaehne has selected illustrations from Leonardo da Vinci’s notebooks and then brief explanations about each one. It hits on some of the more famous illustrations. It is perfect for children.
- Leonardo’s Machines: Da Vinci’s Inventions Revealed by Domenico Laurenza is so neat to look through! It includes Leonardo da Vinci’s drawings and then computer animated images of what they’d look like in real life. We loved flipping through this!
Want to More Lessons on Leonardo da Vinci?
Artist, Inventor, & Scientist
Making and testing out models of Leonardo da Vinci’s ornithopter from Lesson 3: Leonardo da Vinci: The Inventor
Recreate and test out some of Leonardo da Vinci’s inventions, begin an observation notebook, apply his art techniques as you study his art work, and more in this exciting 3 part unit study on Leonardo da Vinci: The Artist, Scientist, & Inventor!
- Leonardo da Vinci: The Artist – Always been intrigued by Mona Lisa’s enigmatic smile? Wondering about The Last Summer? This is part 1 of a 3 part hands-on unit study on Leonardo da Vinci: The Artist, Scientist, & Inventor. This lesson will cover his work as an artist. Sculpt a horse, use watercolors to paint a bird, practice drawing using perspective, and more!
- Leonardo da Vinci: The Scientist – Did you know the artist who painted Mona Lisa was also an impressive scientist? This is part 2 of a 3 part hands-on unit study on Leonardo da Vinci: The Artist, Scientist, & Inventor. This lesson will cover his work as a scientist. Build a working hydrometer and hygrometer, begin a nature journal, write notes in a secret code, and more!
- Leonardo da Vinci: The Inventor – An army tank? A parachute? A machine gun? A bicycle? All these and more were developed by the creative genius, Leonardo da Vinci, in the late 15th century! This is part 3 of a 3 part hands-on unit study on Leonardo da Vinci: The Artist, Scientist, & Inventor. Join us as we recreate and test out Leonardo da Vinci’s inventions including the ornithopter, parachute, and trebuchet!
- Leonardo da Vinci Presentations, Meal, & Field Trip – This is the culminating project following a 3 part unit study on Leonardo da Vinci: The Artist, Scientist, & Inventor. Children will present on Leonardo da Vinci’s works of art and inventions and then will enjoy an Italian meal together. Also included are the field trips we attended while studying this unit.
- Fun, FREE Hands-on Unit Studies – Looking for all of my lessons and unit studies? Over the years I have posted over 30 science and social-studies based unit studies, compromised of more than 140 lessons. For each lesson I have included activities (with photos), our favorite books and YouTube video clips, lapbook links, and other resources. I posted links to all of my unit studies and lessons at the above link.
His Creations Recreated
Leonardo da Vinci’s Inventions for Battle
Giant Crossbow – – All photos are from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science_and_inventions_of_Leonardo_da_Vinci
Organ Gun/Machine Gun
Robot
Scaling Ladder
By Land & By Sea
Leonardo’s Design for an Armored Tank – – Photos are from en.wikipedia.org & leonardodavincisinventions.com
Modern Recreation of His Armored Tank
Modern Recreation of His Armored Tank
Leonardo’s Design for a Bicycle
Modern Recreation of His Bicycle
Leonardo’s Design for a Diving Suit
Leonardo’s Design for the Breathing Apparatus for His Diving Suit
Modern Recreation of His Diving Suit
Leonardo’s Design for a Car
Modern Recreation of His Car
By Air
Leonardo’s Bat Wings Glider Design – – Photos are from en.wikipedia.org
Bat Wings Glider Design
Modern Recreation of Bat Wings Glider Design
Leonardo’s Glider Design
Modern Recreation & Testing of Glider Design
Leonardo’s Helicopter Design
Modern Recreation of Helicopter Design
Leonardo’s Parachute Design
Modern Recreation of Parachute Design
Modern Recreation & Testing of Parachute Design
© 2012 Shannon
Which of his inventions would you like to try out? – Or just leave a note to let me know you dropped by! I love getting feedback from you!
Shannon (author) from Florida on July 02, 2012:
@bilafond lm: Thank you for dropping by! I’m glad you enjoyed the lenses!
bilafond lm on July 02, 2012:
I have already tried the tank and machine gun. Thank you for all the three parts of this lens of yours. Very good. I liked all of them
KevCooper on June 28, 2012:
The bat wing glider
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