Leonardo The Inventor PC MAC CD learn Da Vinci works, creations reference tools! Type: Children Platform: Windows/Mac Publisher: Riverdeep Interactive Learning Limited Released: 1997 Media: CD Next time you snorkel around in the ocean, don't forget to thank Leonardo da Vinci.It's a little-known fact, but the Renaissance man, best known for his art, was an armchair inventor, too. His conceptual sketches of underwater snorkels, skin-diving suits, paddleboats, helicopters, and cannons initially failed. But today it's clear that his early designs influenced contemporary versions of these inventions.Leonardo the Inventor is intended to acquaint you with the engineering side of the artist. The inventions are organized by category: Flight, Water, Music, Civic Engineering, and Warfare. Check out the Flight section, where you'll see Leonardo's designs for a pedal-powered wing. As an animated version of the model emerges, a narrator informs you that, had this design seen the light of day, it would have weighed over 600 pounds. The disc has some other nice touches, too: clicking Flight causes a plane to take off and roar over the Mona Lisa's head. For each invention, you can read Leonardo's notes and check out its modern-day equivalent through a brief video clip. Some of the disc's animations are 3D, designed to be viewed through the pair of cardboard glasses that come with the CD-ROM. These are more entertaining than they are educational. The disc includes a gorgeously illustrated biography. Click on its hot-linked words and definitions pop up. You'll also find a couple of challenging games, a catalog of 30 of Leonardo's works and their locations, a bibliography, and a time line.Although the text portions of the disc are a bit shallow, Leonardo the Inventor is a wonderfully entertaining way to explore the little-known side of this artist. And besides, who needs depth when you're snorkeling?Now your children can learn more about Leonardo Da Vinci than even their teachers know. Thanks to this CD-ROM, Leonardo and his incredible inventions will spring to life right before your child's eyes. See the world's first machine, weapons of war, the suspension bridge, even the drum machine. Have inventions come to life right in front of your eyes, see his biography, or a time line of his life.For Windows (32-bit Systems) / Mac (Power Macintosh: OS 9 or Below) [*Please review compatibility/platform sections in 'What You Get']
