Da Vinci checks into the Smithsonian for 40-day visit

From Leonardo da Vinci to tiger cubs to an interactive conference center, new developments at the nation’s museum complex, the Smithsonian Institution, range from old to new to downright futuristic.

The oldest is Leonardo da Vinci’s "Codex on the Flight of Birds," making a rare appearance outside of Italy for 40 days this fall.

One of Italy’s greatest treasures, it will be on display at the Air and Space Museum this fall from Sept. 13 to Oct. 22.

The extraordinary document, created ca. 1505, shows da Vinci’s interest in human flight as he explored bird flight and behavior. It includes sketches and descriptions of devices and aerodynamic principles related to mechanical flight that predate the invention of the airplane by 400 years.

The document is being loaned to the museum by the Biblioteca Reale in Turin, Italy, which owns a number of works by da Vinci.

Most people have never seen an original work by Leonardo da Vinci, because so few are on display. The Codex has traveled to the United States only once before, and rarely leaves Italy. 

 "For Leonardo, art was the foundation of engineering, and engineering was an expression of art," said Peter Jakab, chief curator of the museum. "The artist who painted the ‘Mona Lisa’ and ‘The Last Supper’ was a Renaissance visionary who saw the modern world before it was realized," said chief curator Peter Jakab.

The exhibit is part of "2013—Year of Italian Culture in the U.S.," an initiative held under the auspices of Italy and the Italian Embassy.

The exhibit itself is being organized by the museum and the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Italian Cultural Heritage and Activities, the Embassy of Italy in Washington, D.C., the Biblioteca Reale in Turin, and the Bracco Foundation and corporations Finmeccanica and Tenaris.

Admission to the exhibition is free and viewing is on a first-come, first-served basis. Information on the exhibition and related activities will be on the museum’s website: airandspace.si.edu.

Looking toward the future, meanwhile, the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History is launching a $5 million renovation of its west exhibition wing that will feature new exhibitions, program spaces and performance venues.

Entirely funded by a donation received this month from SC Johnson, the renovation will include  an "American Enterprise" exhibition and a new state-of-the-art 3,300-square-foot SC Johnson Conference Center, both scheduled to open in mid-2015.

"American Enterprise" will "immerse visitors in the dramatic arc of the nation’s story" in an 8,000-square-foot multimedia exhibition on the role of business and innovation in the United States. It will span the nation’s history from the mid-1700s to the present, tracing our development from a small, dependent agricultural nation to one of the world’s largest economies.

Meanwhile, the SC Johnson Conference Center will serve as a venue for educational outreach and a variety of other activities. It will offer national and international broadcast capabilities, allowing museum curators to hold virtual field trips providing interactive educational experiences.

In other Smithsonian news, the National Zoo this month is celebrating "a conservation victory" in the birth of two baby cubs to the Sumatran tiger Damai.

The Smithsonian is open daily except Christmas, and admission is free.