The "Flight of Thought" exhibition opened at the Aleksandrovskaya Sloboda museum-reserve. It is a partnership project with the International Institute of New Educational Technologies of the Russian State University for the Humanities (RSUH), the "3Da Vinci" Museum-Workshop, and the Russian State Library for the Blind.
The exhibition showcases medieval engineering inventions that became the foundation for mechanisms and have firmly entered our everyday life. Much of this was created by the "flight of thought" of a single person, a genius ahead of his time — Leonardo da Vinci. The notion of wings always hovered in the work of the great Leonardo. That is why the exhibition is situated in the historic space of the Raspjat'skaya Bell Tower, from which, according to legend, the Russian inventor Nikita-kholop made a flight in the presence of Ivan the Terrible, who observed him.
"For a long time people have wanted to fly. This dream passed through all the cultures of the world, touching the great minds of the Renaissance. Da Vinci dreamed his whole life of a heavier-than-air flying machine. Our exhibition demonstrates the birth and realization of the idea of flight from Ovid's 'Metamorphoses' to the present day. But the project's goal is much broader — to show the full power of the creative thought of the great Italian genius across different fields. Aeronautics, armaments, printing, etc. — the range of his interests covered more than 50 areas of knowledge. A distinguishing feature of the project is the materialization of these ideas using 3D printing and augmented reality. We very much hope that 'Flight of Thought' will attract, first and foremost, young people who are actively mastering new digital technologies.",
— said the author and curator of the project, director of the International Institute of New Educational Technologies at RSUH, Sergey Viktorovich Kuvshinov.
At the exhibition you can see models — forerunners of the modern helicopter, tank, automobile, hang glider, cannon, as well as drawings by da Vinci himself.
The exhibition will primarily interest those who never part with their gadgets. With the help of modern augmented reality technologies, all the mechanisms here "come to life" and are set in motion. And the interactive labels will tell fascinating facts about each object.
The project is adapted for people with visual impairments. The exhibits are tactile, as they are produced using volumetric and relief-graphic technologies.
"We have long dreamed of creating an exhibition that tells of the inventions of the past that became achievements of all humanity. We wanted to introduce visitors to the craftsmen whose flights of thought were ahead of their time. This project is especially important for the Ivan the Terrible Museum — we hope to dispel myths about the Middle Ages as an era of barbarism, ignorance, wars, bloodshed, and epidemics of plague and leprosy. In reality, it was a time of the greatest discoveries and inventions that came to life half a millennium later! And now our tourists have the opportunity to see this for themselves.",
— shared M.K. Rybakova, acting director of the Aleksandrovskaya Sloboda museum-reserve.
"Flight of Thought" will remain open until the end of the year.
