Engineers bring da Vinci's catapult to Arlington Heights library
A rare chance to glimpse into the world of Leonardo da Vinci's genius mind exists this month on the main floor of the Arlington Heights Memorial Library.
No, not one of his masterpiece paintings, but one of his many inventions: the catapult. Built of wood, with a worm gear system of propulsion, held together with dovetail joints and dowels, it looks like a weapon straight out of the Middle Ages.
Turns out, it is. Da Vinci sketched the invention in a notebook in the 1480s as a variation on earlier catapults used as weapons, only armed with increased power and a more efficient reloading capacity.
However, no records exist of it being built in his lifetime.
Enter local engineers Matthew McKee of Rolling Meadows and Jonathan Boley of Mundelein, who were commissioned by library officials to reconstruct the machine.
"We enjoyed the problem solving of it, trying to figure out how to build his sketches into the real thing," McKee said. "There were no directions for the build-out process, no measurements or scale. We worked from the one sketch."
The exhibit is part of the library's third annual One Book, One Village initiative. This year's selection, "The Geography of Genius" by Eric Weiner, explores why creative genius happened at a certain time and place - from ancient Greece to Silicon Valley - and whether culture influences genius.
Basically, he explores whether a genius is born or made. Da Vinci, he argues, developed his creative inventions and masterpieces in part out of competition with Michelangelo, whom Steiner says, he despised.
"This is our first nonfiction in the series," said Jason Kuhl, executive director of the library. "We thought it was an interesting concept - examining when creativity has flourished throughout history."
McKee was on hand last week during the first of three "Try it Yourself" dates, when library patrons can launch the catapult right in the library.
Given the confined space, its two builders have calibrated its launching capabilities to 10 feet, offering up ammunition such as toy pumpkins, Ping-Pong balls and rubber ducks.
The rare opportunity drew a line of takers - young and old - who were interested to see the invention come to life.
Anna Manova of Arlington Heights and her two children were repeat customers. Kaia, 7, and Alex, 5, lined up over and over again to watch their objects fly through the air.
"It's nice to see the invention in front of you - and not read about it in a book," Anna Manova said.
Her daughter, Kaia, concurred, saying: "It's cool that you can make this."
In fact, it took McKee and Boley a total of 160 hours to build. The two engineers work by day in acoustics engineering and hearing science, designing smart hearing aids and wireless devices. Consequently, the chance to immerse themselves in hands-on engineering and building, not to mention work from a sketch drawn by da Vinci, was compelling.
"It was innovative," McKee said of the invention. "Whether it was practical or not is another question. With the right tools, it probably could have had quite a bit of power."
If you go
What: A chance to try da Vinci's catapult
When: 6:30 to 8 p.m. Monday
Where: Arlington Heights Memorial Library, 500 N. Dunton Ave.
Cost: Free
Details: <a href="http://www.ahml.info">www.ahml.info</a>