Museo Nazionale Scienza e Tecnologia Leonardo da Vinci

Museo Nazionale Scienza e Tecnologia Leonardo da Vinci in Milan, dedicated to painter and scientist Leonardo da Vinci, is the largest science and technology museum in Italy. It was opened on 15 February 1953 and inaugurated by Prime Minister Alcide De Gasperi.[1]

Museo Nazionale Scienza e Tecnologia Leonardo da Vinci
National Museum of Science and Technology
Map
Interactive fullscreen map
Established1953
LocationVia S. Vittore 21 – 20123 MilanItaly
Coordinates45°27′44.978″N 9°10′11.636″E / 45.46249389°N 9.16989889°E / 45.46249389; 9.16989889
DirectorFiorenzo Galli
Websitemuseoscienza.org

The museum, in the ancient monastery of San Vittore al Corpo in Milan, is divided into seven main departments:[2]

Each of these departments have laboratories, especially for children and young students. The Transport section is made up of four different parts: air, rail, water and Submarine Enrico Toti-S-506.[3]

Materials section

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The Materials section treats the life cycle of modern products from raw materials to recycling. Specific sections are dedicated to polymeric and synthetic materials and to basic chemical manufacturing. There is also a metal section that illustrates the metal extraction and processing techniques and exhibits the first electric arc furnace for melting steel invented in 1898 by Ernesto Stassano.

Transport section

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Macchi MC 205 V

The Transport section is divided in four different sections:

Energy section

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The Energy section is dedicated to energy sources and devices. In this part of the museum there is the Margherita thermoelectric power station (1895) and an oil industry/petrochemistry section.

 
Phonola model 1718 television

Communication section

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The Communication section is divided into three areas:

  • The Astronomy section shows several antique astronomic and topographical instruments, including two 17th-century celestial and earth globes, the Salmoiraghi refracting telescope, and a Foucault pendulum.
  • The Telecommunication section is dedicated to all forms of modern-era communication from telegraph to telephone and wireless communication, and from radio to television, with a global view of the technical history of Italian television.
  • The Sound section shows the main technologies for recording and reproducing sound from the 19th century to modern times.

Leonardo da Vinci, Art & Science section

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Leonardo da Vinci flying machine

The Leonardo da Vinci, Art & Science area is divided into four parts:

  • The Jewelry collection shows precious objects from stones and gems to metals, including gold and ivory jewellery.
  • The Leonardo da Vinci section exhibits many Leonardo machines reproduced from Da Vinci drawings,[4] including a hydraulic saw, a spinning machine, a flying machine and Leonardo's tank. The models of the collection are the fruit of a reinterpretation by a group of experts who have translated and completed his drawings.
  • The Horology collection shows the evolution of watchmaking and shows several pendulum clocks, ancient clocks, personal watches and tower mechanisms.
  • The Musical Instruments section exhibits instruments from the 17th to the 20th century. There is a reconstruction of a lute maker's workshop from the 17th century.
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See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Museo Nazionale della Scienza e della Tecnologia "Leonardo da Vinci"". www.museoscienza.org. Retrieved 19 April 2018.
  2. ^ "Departments – museoscienza". www.museoscienza.org. Retrieved 19 April 2018.
  3. ^ "Sottomarino S-506 Enrico Toti – museoscienza". www.museoscienza.org. Retrieved 19 April 2018.
  4. ^ Giorgione, Claudio (13 October 2015). "The birth of a collection in Milan: from the Leonardo Exhibition of 1939 to the opening of the National Museum of Science and Technology in 1953". Science Museum Group Journal. 4 (4). The Science Museum. doi:10.15180/150404. ISSN 2054-5770. Archived from the original on 14 February 2022.
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