As an inventor, artist, scientist, anatomist, engineer, architect, sculptor, and philosopher, there are few figures in human history who fascinate and inspire us as much as Leonardo da Vinci. For Dr. Andrea Bernardoni, Senior Researcher at the Galileo Museum in Florence, Italy, Leonardo’s work has been a key focus of study. Looking through the lens of the History of Technology, Bernardoni has curated several sections of exhibitions dedicated to Leonardo, which were showcased at venues in Italy,

Bon jorn / good day. I have a question for you, my reading friend. Would you like to take a closer look at the wonders that lie beneath the surface of the ocean, without having to transform yourself into a human frog with scuba gear, air tanks, regulator, mask, fins, etc.? Yes, I know, there are aquariums that offer such an experience. Yes, yes, again, I know, some sites offer underwater tours in abundantly glazed submarines. What I’m talking about is very different. What I’m talking about

In 2017, I had the honour of travelling to Iran — the country that's world famous for its hand-woven carpets — to study women’s traditional practises of Persian carpet weaving. I visited collective and home carpet-weaving workshops in Kashan , where I interviewed local women who were involved in carpet weaving. Frames of astonishing designs, mixed with attractive colours using traditional tools, have been fixed in my memory. Traditional tools used for carpet weaving, ToranjMehrab carpet weaving

Is that an expression of shock or disbelief I see on your face, my reading friend? Shock would be an appropriate reaction. Disbelief, not so much. What follows is no joke, my reading friend, but I beseech you not to try this at home. This week’s story comes to you courtesy of the most successful aviation magazine in Canadian history, personal opinion, the monthly Canadian Aviation , more specifically its April 1929 issue. Once upon a time, early in 1929 to be exact, Calmont Oils Limited, a

Field trip planning just got a whole lot easier. Thanks to the power of virtual reality, teachers based anywhere in the world can now take their students on an educational tour of the dairy barn at the Canada Agriculture and Food Museum — which is also a working farm in Ottawa, Canada. The museum has partnered with Google Arts & Culture to develop “Explore a Working Dairy Barn,” a virtual reality (VR) expedition available through the Google Expeditions app. Nadine Dagenais Dessaint, who works as

"Ingenium’s Collections Conservation Centre: Bringing Canada’s Past into the Future" was originally published in Muse Magazine — March/April 2019 , a publication of the Canadian Museums Association. There’s a locomotive in Ottawa that has some amazing stories to tell. If trains could talk, the CP 1201 might enthrall you with the story of its construction in Montreal in 1944, and how it symbolized the end of the steam era in the Angus Shops of the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR). A workhorse

Ingenium’s new Collections Conservation Centre will open in only a few months. This is a dream come true for those of us who have been caring for Canada’s national collection of scientific and technological artifacts for our entire careers, and have been waiting for this moment for over a decade.