Leonardo Da Vinci: The Genius and the Exhibit

This is Day 4 of our Washington, DC adventure.  It has been HOT (broke a 116-year-old record when it hit 100 degrees yesterday) and we tend to cool off by visiting the museums, most of them Smithsonian-affiliated...think "Night at the Museum!"  Today, we decided to venture off the Smithsonian beat and find the National Geographic Explorer's Hall.  Completely worth it!!  There was an exhibit of Leonardo Da Vinci's drawings and inventions that was amazing!  It also included an exhibit of "25 Secrets of the Mona Lisa."  Art fans would really enjoy this. 

All I can say is WOW...such a genius.  And hooray to National Geographic for having such a great museum to explore.  Not too big, and the best museum store.  What else would you expect from the people that publish great books for adults and kids and run the NatGeo channel?

Above and beyond his paintings (yes, he's the "Mona Lisa" guy), I have always been fascinated with the inventions of Da Vinci (that's the geeky scientist in me), and would love the opportunity to have just one hour to talk with him.  Since that is never going to happen, I have to settle for what is written by him and about him.  Here are two wonderful "teen" biographies of the man that you might enjoy reading:

Leonard da Vinci: The Genius of the Renaissance by Phillips (published by National Geographic!)

Leonard da Vinci (Giants of Science series) by Krull



So, if you could invite anyone from history to dinner, who would it be?  And why?