Curiosity and Creativity

Today we went to the Leonardo da Vinci museum. Da Vinci does not have connections to Rome per se, but he was from Italy so Rome will claim him, haha. 

Before we went I started to tell Levi J a little about him, and he said, "I already know Leonardo da Vinci!" That surprised me, so he had to explain, "From Peabody and Sherman!" For the uninformed, that's a cartoon/movie about a time traveling dog and boy. It's actually a very smart and educational show (clearly!)

I did add to the Peabody and Sherman curriculum, though, and it was cute to see Levi J go into the exhibit familiar with the work we saw there.

The museum took a lot of da Vinci's designs and created them. It was fantastic for the kids because they encouraged you to touch and try all the gadgets!

Whirligig

The first paddle board!

Scuba suit!

Look at the next picture and you'll see what Levi J is looking through.

This helped da Vinci draw in perspective

Wings

There were so many fun inventions, and of course so many that were way before their time. The kids loved trying them all out, and it was great talking to them about how they all worked. They also had prints of his paintings all over, and videos about the Last Supper, the Vitruvian Man, and a sculpture he did that was destroyed. And they had some of his original journals/codices!

This girl wanted her picture taken all morning! Which is so unusual for her!

Original codices belonging to da Vinci!

Afterwards we popped in to a cathedral that was right above the museum (of course this is Rome so there were three cathedrals all within sight of each other, ha!) The minute we walked in and I saw the marble sculptures, I figured it must be Bernini's work. Google later confirmed I was right! Only in Rome can you pop in to an unknown church and find art from one of the world's most famous sculptors.

They say what Shakespeare is to drama, Bernini is to sculpture.

The church is called Basilica Parrocchiale Santa Maria del Popolo. Catchy name.

We were in the same area as yesterday, and so knew the route home handily this time, ha!

Piazza del Popolo

Later we tracked down a playground in our neighborhood. The kids had a great time, even though the "playground" consisted of a few swings, two rocking horses, and a big patch of dirt. I was less than impressed.

Well, I should say I was not impressed with the park. These kids regularly impress me! I just adore how they love to be outside. Seriously, they can be having the worst day, underslept, cranky, crying, but if they can go outside, even in a patch of dirt, they are remarkably happy. Particularly Quintana. She will play with rocks and dirt and sticks for hours. It drives me crazy, though, because she is soooo grumpy when we're in the house! It would be a whole lot easier if she could borrow some of that curiosity and creativity for indoor time, too!

He has mastered European water fountains! I am weirdly proud of that.

I just have to get used to bathing these kids every single time we walk into the house. They are covered with sweat and dirt every time we venture out, ha!