DICK:Today we introduce you to a man that had not one–
DOM:Not two.
DICK:But hundreds of genius ideas that were hundreds of years ahead of their time like the futuristic flying machine
DOM:Yep, boots that enabled you to walk on water but you and I know him better as a painter.
DICK:But not any old painter - this guy painted one of the most famous pictures the world has ever seen - The Mona Lisa. Come on over here, and please meet, Leonardo da Vinci.
LEONARDO DA VINCI:Ciao Dick and Dom.
DICK:'Leonardo da Vinci was born in 1452 near the town of Vinci His name actually means Leonardo OF Vinci.'
DOM:'So we've learned that da Vinci was awesome at painting but he also fancied himself as a bit of an inventor and how do we know all this?'
DICK:'Because Leonardo left behind thousands of pages of notes in his secretive journals.
DICK:'Da Vinci's genius idea was to invent stuff that was centuries ahead of its time.'
1200:00:59:06 00:01:06:23DOM:'His secret journals were packed full of incredible designs. There were flying machines, a parachute a robotic knight and even a tank.'
LEONARDO DA VINCI:Check me out, I'm gonna blow you up from the 16th Century.
FRAN SCOTT:So which one's your favourite idea so far?
DOM:Got to say, instantly I think, the robotic knight.
FRAN SCOTT:'It does look quite awesome doesn't it?'
DICK:'I don't understand that though 'cause that'll probably need power, won't it? And there was no batteries or electricity in those days.
FRAN SCOTT:Well, it worked a bit differently. He had rope and he had a series of pulleys 'and he could make like the arms move, make the robot sit down and stand up.'
DICK:What about if we go big with the tank?
FRAN SCOTT:'I do like this tank and like most of Leonardo's ideas, this was really revolutionary no one had ever seen anything like it before.'
DOM:Have you got a model of it?
FRAN SCOTT:I haven't but I do know somewhere you can go to find out all about tanks.
DOM:'This place has got the biggest collection of tanks in the world.'
DICK:'It was time to get inspired.'
DOM:'It was time to get serious.' 98, 99.
DICK:BRRRFFF! So would you say da Vinci's designs would have worked?
DAVID WILLEY:He's got protection on the outside, he's got a cannon for firepower, the only one that might be a bit of a doubt is the mobility because its human power, trying to manoeuvre a big vehicle along. So that may be one of the issues you might have to have a look at.
DOM:'Our genius idea - to build a tank based on da Vinci's designs.'
DICK:'Our challenge - to test its mobility, its firepower and its protection.'
DOM:'Our problem - we haven't a clue where to start.'
DICK:'What we did know was that da Vinci's design was a wooden shell on wheels.'
DOM:'There were no engines back then so it would have been driven by men turning wheels by hand.'
DICK:'To help us build our version of da Vinci's tank, we've enlisted engineer, Grant Cooper.'
DOM:So what's your solution, instead of kind of hand powered.
GRANT COOPER:Well I think a much more efficient method is using normal off-the-shelf bicycles.
DOM:'Screws had been tightened.'
DICK:'Tyres had been pumped. So the time had come to test our version of da Vinci's tank.'
DICK:Aaargh. It's not easy is it.
DOM:No.
DICK:Aaargh. 'It was all going so well, until–'
BOTH SCREAMING
CRASH
DOM:Mobility - potentially, a fail.
DICK:On da Vinci's tank design, he had cannons, we have paintball guns.
DOM:Three, two, one, go! Come on. Come on!
DICK:Next.
DOM:OK, moving over to the next gun.
DICK:Yes! Ah, yes!
DOM:Stop! All of them!
DICK:Come on!
DICK:I think da Vinci would be quite pleased with that.
DOM:I think he would.
DICK:'So things were looking up.'
DOM:What's that noise?
BATTLE CRIES
DOM:Stop! Who are you?!
DAVE:We're his grace, the Duke of York's retinue.
DOM:Don't be so silly. What's your real name?
DAVE:Oh, Dave.
DOM:Oh. So, I mean, what would an army like you, do with weapons like that to something like this?
DAVE:Smash it to bits.
DOM:Right, off you go then. NOT YET! Got to get out haven't we. Silly men. Right stop! Leave it alone.
DICK:Silly men.
DOM:Alright, back to your castle. See you later lads.
DAVE:Come on lads.
DOM:'The tank had withstood the arrows OK, not the assault, so in our books, that's a pass.'
DICK:Da Vinci, we can most definitely say, you were an absolute genius.
LEONARDO DA VINCI:Grazi, Dick and Dom.
DOM:I wonder how this tank would fair against a modern day tank?
DICK:Well, doesn't matter does it, we're never going to find out.
BEEPING
DICK:Aaahh!
Video summary
Dick, Dom and Fran Scott from 'Absolute Genius' describe the life and scientific work of Leonardo da Vinci.
He was born in 1452 in Italy. He is famous for his painting of the Mona Lisa, but he also wrote thousands of pages of notes in his journals. These contained designs for machines that were centuries ahead of their time, including a flying machine, a parachute and a robotic knight.
Dick and Dom make a tank following da Vinci’s design and test it for protection, fire power and mobility. The key scientific points are made in a fun and student-friendly way.
This short film is from the CBBC series, Absolute Genius with Dick & Dom.
In this entertaining series Dick and Dom learn about the geniuses whose ideas, creations and discoveries have shaped our world.
Teacher Notes
Pupils could be presented with other modern machines which reflect Leonardo da Vinci's inventions (plus a few red herrings) and asked to try to identify the correct ones.
They could also look at the mechanical principles Leonardo da Vinci used in his inventions, such as leverage, pulleys, cranks, gears and the natural forces, such as centripetal force and hydraulics.
They could see if they can identify any of these mechanical principles in the modern machines:
What modern technologies could be used to optimise his machines?
Invite pupils to invent a machine that would make their lives easier, or which builds on a design by da Vinci, and draw it.
What mechanisms and materials would they use?
They could then present their ideas in front of the class.
This short film is suitable for teaching science at Key Stage 2 in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and Second Level in Scotland.
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