Renaissance Art & Inventions

In Renaissance Italy, a young apprentice named Arturo needs some innovative assistance. His master, Bruno Borimo, has been selected to compete at the Festival di Innovato with the finest artists and inventors in Florence, but Bruno’s brain is still stuck in the Dark Ages. This week, help Arturo create art and inventions visionary enough to show Bruno the true meaning of the Renaissance in time to impress at the festival!

(Pre-K - Kindergarten)

Art: Create an embellished Renaissance sketchbook filled with your work, including a da Vinci-inspired observational nature drawing. Practice collage techniques and a visionary mindset as you transform foam shapes into a relief panel in the style of Ghiberti’s bronze doors.

Science: Explore the ups and downs of floating and sinking as you discover how to make objects maintain neutral buoyancy. Experiment with corks, balsa wood and other materials to construct your own buoyant versions of da Vinci’s floating shoes.

Outdoors: Try your hand at Renaissance crafts like weaving, then get moving with all-camp activities and some Galileo-style maypole games.

(Rising 1st - 2nd graders)

Art: Become the face of the Renaissance as you practice observing proportions and drawing realistic features for a Renaissance-style self-portrait. Experiment with shading and painting techniques to make realistic clouds, then create a cloudscape for a Mantegna-inspired dome ceiling.

Science: Discover the strength of Renaissance structures as you construct paper-mache domes inspired by Brunelleschi, then learn about compressive force and strong shapes by building a working crane with a winch.

Outdoors: Work with your teammates to master some traditional Renaissance pastimes, such as juggling, fencing and the Italian ball game, Pallone!

(Rising 3rd - 5th graders)

Art: Create a plaster wall, then mix tempera paint to make tints and shades you’ll apply to transform it into a Michelangelo-inspired fresco. Use da Vinci’s atmospheric perspective technique to design a landscape backdrop for a Commedia dell’arte theater.

Science: Learn about the mechanical innovations of the Renaissance as you explore the science of gears, pulleys, levers and winches. Use your knowledge of simple machines and mechanical advantage to build automata inspired by da Vinci’s designs, including a scene with moving elements.

Outdoors: Work with your team on fun innovation challenges and play games inspired by Commedia dell’arte performances.