National Geographic Museum Blog

Leonardo da Vinci was captivated by the possibility of human flight. He spent countless hours studying and sketching birds in flight. He devised a number of inventions to both test the principles of flight and explore the possibility of human flight. Through the summer, we will feature some of these inventions, modern models of which are on view in the exhibition Da Vinci – The Genius.

Vertical Ornithopter

In this design, the pilot stands erect in the middle of an enormous machine. He is required to use his arms, legs and even head to move the sliding mechanisms up and down in order to get the vessel off the ground. Leonardo was using all parts of the human body to try to maximize the energy source. The machine is 40 feet long with a wing span of 80 feet, and there is a 40 foot retractable ladder with shock absorbers. Leonardo decided it was necessary to have two pairs of wings, beating ‘crisscross, the way a horse moves’.

Eastern Hellbender – Numbers Unknown
Cryptobranchus alleganiensis alleganiensis
San Francisco State University, San Francisco, California

Surviving in the Appalachians as one of North America’s largest salamanders, these hellbenders range from 12 to 29 inches long. They like swift, clear streams with rocky bottoms and thus serve as barometers of river health. Topping their list of threats are dams, silt accumulation, and fishermen who sometimes kill them in the mistaken belief that they are poisonous.

Leonardo da Vinci was captivated by the possibility of human flight. He spent countless hours studying and sketching birds in flight. He devised a number of inventions to both test the principles of flight and explore the possibility of human flight. Although he never achieved his dream of human flight, he learned quite a bit about aerodynamics and many of his imaginative inventions are considered precursors for some modern flying machines. Through the summer, we will feature some of these inventions, modern models of which are on view in the exhibition Da Vinci – The Genius.

The Studio d’ Ala Batiente, or flapping wing, was a machine created to test whether the downward force, or lift, created by beating wings would raise a heavy load.

A 40 feet ‘wing’, a net and cane structure covered with paper, was to be attached to a plank of wood weighing as much as a man. If the long lever could be pushed down fast enough, the wing would possibly ‘touch down’ on the air and lift the plank. If this worked, then two wings could lift a pilot and his flying machine and keep them in the air.

In his notebook, Leonardo wrote: “…but be sure that the force is rapid and if the above effect is not obtained, waste no more time on it.”

Choctawhatchee Beach Mouse – less than 1,000
Peromyscus polionotus allophrys
Panama City, Florida

In a range of three counties in coastal Florida, fewer than a thousand of these mice are thought to exist. They are integral components in the beach and sand dune ecosystems threatened by development. Their survival is contingent upon dune preservation and conservation efforts.

Leading up to our Solar Oven Workshop on July 11 at 1pm we will do a weekly feature about solar technology. To register for the free workshop, email NatGeoMuseum@ngs.org with name and number of attendees by July 8.

We’ll start off our solar technology blog feature with cooking. As is widely known, the energy of the sun’s rays can be used to cook many different types of food. In Mexico, two poor urban communities use the Solar Dish Kitchen.

Using primarily bicycle parts, the BASIC Initiative Mexico Program of the University of Texas and the University of Washington, designed the Solar Dish Kitchen as a way for mothers to supplement the diets of their children and reduce costs. Small vanity mirrors create the parabolic mirror surface which concentrates the energy of the sun on a pot or stove in the kitchen. The community and local government plan to build more kitchens based on this prototype.

Black-footed Ferret – approximately 800
Mustela nigripes
Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, Colorado Springs, Colorado

A government-assisted war on prairie dogs in the 1900s nearly wiped out the black-footed ferret, which depends on prairie dogs as a staple in its diet. The ferret’s geographic range is now less than one percent of what it once was across the Great Plains. Meanwhile, reintroduced ferrets lack survival skills and often become prey for eagles and coyotes.

Delhi Sands Flower-loving Fly – less than 1,000
Rhaphiomidas terminatus abdominalis
Colton, California

This small insect has the distinction of being the only fly on the Endangered Species List, and its habitats are limited to a few vacant lots in the Los Angeles Basin.

“It took four and a half months to take this picture. That was the wait time for a special handling permit that was needed through the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. On the chosen day, with several federal agents there to see the show, a federally permitted fly handler named Ken Osborne readied himself to catch a single fly unharmed. Our permit allowed for just one fly to be caught, so if it was injured or flew off before I got the picture, that would be our tough luck. Neither of us slept a wink the night before. Ken was able to find a fly, net it, then run it back to my rolling photo studio, an SUV lined with bed sheets. He knocked it out with CO2 gas, then let it wake up a few seconds later on my black velvet background. To our amazement, it stayed there and groomed itself, giving me several minutes to shoot. Ken then gently scooped it into a jar, took it back to the place where he found it, and we all watched it fly off.” – Joel Sartore, photographer

Pima Pineapple Cactus – approximately 5,000
Coryphantha scheeri var. robustispina
Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, Tucson, Arizona

A cactus with a sweet fruit, this rarity grows in desert scrub and grassland in Sonora, Mexico and two counties in southern Arizona. Urban sprawl and off-road vehicles are its main threats. A recently discovered population at a racetrack near Tucson was fenced for protection.

We are offering 6 people a BEHIND THE SCENES TOUR. To enter, go to our Facebook page, if you are not already a fan, join, and then use the link on the left (below the profile picture) that says “suggest to friends.” Suggest to as many friends as you want. Then have your friends post “XXXXX X suggested this page to me.” The top 3 referrers and new fans number 7090 and 7125 will win the tickets. Go ahead, suggest away!

Yellow Blotched Map Turtle – approximately 50,000
Graptemys flavimaculata
Tennessee Aquarium, Chattanooga, Tennessee

Living only in the Pascagoula River and its tributaries in southeastern Mississippi, this isolated population of turtles hangs on in the face of low reproduction rates, more roads, and habitat loss. One big culprit is the clearing of river snags for recreational boats and flood control. Turtles depend on these dead trees as perches for basking.