Infinite Creativity

Thursday, January 26, 2012

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"Infinite creativity" is one of the things we hope to inspire here at The Leonardo. We like to show you where art, science, and technology intersect, and we hope to show you how to see the world the way our namesake, Leonardo Da Vinci, saw it. Infinite Creativity is also the name of a piece in our second floor exhibit, Render.

To put it simply, Infinite Creativity is a collaborative digital finger painting station. Made by Adobe and interactive media firm Second Story in 2010, it debuted at the Tech Museum of Innovation in the San Francisco Bay Area and has since been installed in a handful of other locations. In October of 2011 it won an award from AIGA, the professional association of design. It won the award the same month The Leonardo opened its doors, which may or may not be a coincidence.

Infinite Creativity has proven popular with visitors and staff alike. Learning to use it is as simple as touching your finger to a screen, but you'll soon find that it's more complex than just that, and welcomes prolonged use.




And here my design appears on the display array.


This target allows you to choose different "brushes." There's no onscreen guide to the brushes, which encourages experimentation and leads to fun surprises.




Whenever I stop by Infinite Creativity I always find myself spending more time there than I'd planned on. It's an almost meditative experience, watching the colors and patterns float by, watching the changes that occur in ways I wasn't expecting, playing with different combinations of brushes and fingers.

Next time you're on the second floor of The Leonardo, don't pass Infinite Creativity by. See what designs you can make!

If you have had a chance to play with it, let us know in the comments what you thought of the experience!

Posted by The Leonardo at 1/26/2012 07:11:00 PM 0 comments

Celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr. Day at The Leo

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

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If you’re looking for a special way to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day this year, we hope you’ll visit The Leonardo. Our Human Rights Gallery currently features the exhibit This Light of Ours: Activist Photographers of the Civil Rights Movement, which which presents the historic struggle through the work and voices of nine activist photographers. These men and women courageously documented the national battle against segregation and other forms of race-based disenfranchisement from within the movement.


This exhibit gathers 156 black and white photographs from nine celebrated photographers: Bob Adelman, George Ballis, Bob Fitch, Bob Fletcher, Matt Herron, David Prince, Herbert Randall, Maria Varela, and Tamio Wakayama.

The photos are stunning, both aesthetically and contextually. The exhibit shows us some of the ugliness of America's recent past, and the beauty that went up against it.



Though normally closed Mondays, we will be open on January 16th from 11am-5pm. Join us to explore This Light of Ours before it departs on its world tour in May, 2012.

Posted by The Leonardo at 1/11/2012 11:03:00 AM 0 comments

Children's Drawing Club with Jann Haworth. Sign up today!

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

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When I was a young lad—from as soon as I could hold a pencil to Junior High—I filled sketchbook after sketchbook with drawings. Ducks, baseball stars, knights, dragons, Batman, I drew the typical things that occupy the mind of a young boy. Looking back through those sketchbooks now, the drawings are, um, a little awkward. But the sketchbooks do show signs of improvement as the years go on. Jann Haworth, The Leonardo's artist-in-residence, says that drawing is a skill, not a "talent." It's true. Drawing is a skill, and with enough practice and guidance that skill can be developed into something wonderful that will last a lifetime. Looking at my old weathered sketchbooks, I regret that I never really focused on improving. I drew what I saw, but was too busy playing Nintendo to really learn the skills I would need, skills that I'd still be putting into practice today.

I know there are a lot of children out there that share the same passion for drawing, and luckily for them there's a great option right here at The Leo that will help them hone their craft. Starting January 6, 2012,  Jann Haworth will be offering a series of drawing classes called "My Kid CAN Do That!" Here is a selection of works by 4th grade students from American Fork, UT. The kids completed these after some of Jann's workshops and frankly, I'm a little jealous.



Jann's Drawing Club workshops will be split into age groups. Ages 8-11 on Saturdays, 12-14 on Fridays. Cost is $100 for all 10 sessions, and includes professional instruction and all materials. Scholarships available for low-income participants. The 12-14 year-old sessions run on Fridays from 3:30pm until 5pm. The 8-11 year-old class will be held on Saturdays from 2pm-3:30pm. Register by calling 801.531.9800 or e-mailing Jann directly at jhaworth@theleonardo.org. CLASS SIZE IS LIMITED, REGISTER TODAY!

These classes will give young people skills in drawing, perception, and creative expression they can use in their personal and future professional lives. Jann is a wonderful instructor and you won't want to miss this unique opportunity!

Posted by The Leonardo at 12/20/2011 01:42:00 PM 0 comments

Lab @ Leo: The Awesome Puppet Company (Dec. 9, 2011)

Friday, December 9, 2011

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Saturday from 11:00am to 2:00pm or Sunday from 1:00pm to 3:00pm learn puppet-craft, puppet-making, and mask-making. Cost is $50.00 per person, includes materials and museum admission. RSVP by calling 801.531.9800

Posted by The Leonardo at 12/09/2011 06:26:00 PM 0 comments

Lab @ Leo: Kent Christensen (Nov. 28, 2011)

Monday, November 28, 2011

The Leonardo: Utah's newest museum. Become a fan of The Leonardo on Facebook or follow us on Twitter!


In Lab @ Leo you can hobnob with real artists, inventors, and other technical and creative gurus. Every week a different Cool-Person-in-Residence sets up their studio or shop in the Lab, which is open for museum guests to come say hello, observe the process, and even learn a thing or two. The Lab Resident always offers daily workshops where they can mentor you in their area of expertise in a casual, informal setting, and on the weekends the Resident offers a Master Class, a paid class where you learn from someone at the top of their field.

Last week Lab @ Leo welcomed Kent David Christensen, a Utah-born artist who now divides his time between New York City and Sundance, Utah. Kent's paintings and illustrations often deal with pop culture and religious iconography, with a focus on one of this blogger's favorite topics: snacks.

Posted by The Leonardo at 11/28/2011 01:39:00 PM 0 comments

Meet the United States Adaptive Bobsled Team at The Leonardo (Nov. 16, 2011)

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

You're sliding down a tube of ice in a land-bound rocketship, rushing downward at 90mph. 6Gs of force pull on you as you bank a 180 degree turn, every muscle in your body fighting, your stamina stretched to the limit.

This is the world of competitive bobsled, a winter sport that's been included in the Olympics since the very first Winter Games in 1924. Until recently participation in the sport was reserved for the able-bodied,  but Dave Nicholls of the National Ability Center in Park City, UT, along with coach Jeremy Holm, have put together the world's first adaptive bobsled team. This is a team made-up of amputees, paraplegics, and quadriplegics who have not let any disability slow their drive to compete.

Captain Cody Reese and the rest of the team will be joining us at The Leonardo on Friday, November 18 at 7pm for an informal Q&A session and 'meet-n-greet' with the athletes. They will have to stickers to hand out, autograph cards and the public can take pictures. Then on Saturday, November 19 at 2pm they will be doing a mini "Intro to bobsled" with the public. They will walk them through some training drills, how to push, how to load in the sled, sprinting and workouts with medicine balls.

The team will be near our exhibit Out on a Limb, which showcases Otto Bock HealthCare, innovators in the field of prosthetics. Out on a Limb lets you study the human stories that drive innovation, the passions that determine the product, and experience the creative process that improves the human condition. Many of the athletes on the team use Otto Bock prosthetics.



Cody is an above-knee amputee. He was born without a femur in his left leg and had his foot amputated at age 2, but he is an active skier, cyclist, and of course bobsledder.

"No matter what ‘disability’ you have, you must strive to find away around, over or through that obstacle to allow yourself to strive to be the best physically, mentally, morally and spiritually you can. Never give up, never surrender to fear and always push yourself further," Cody said.

So how did he get involved with the adaptive bobsled team?

"I actually put off joining the team for two years in spite of getting phone calls from our team director. It took one time down the track from the ‘beginners’ start with a new pilot who had never driven before, who beat the tar out of me, for me to get hooked. The adrenaline, competition, persistent challenge and team camaraderie keep me coming back."

It keeps others coming back too. Brandon Larson had his leg amputated after a motorcycle accident in 2007. With the use of an Otto Bock prosthetic (similar to the ones displayed in our second floor Out on a Limb exhibit) he has been able to continue playing softball, basketball, waterskiing, wakeboarding, surfing, snowskiing, and track and field.

I love to go fast and get my adrenaline going," Brandon said, making bobsled a natural fit for him.

The adaptive team is breaking ground in other ways as well. Marianne Page, paralyzed from the waist down from a car accident in 1997, is vying to become one of the first ever female bobsled drivers. She's used to competition, having won the gold at the US Open Wheelchair Tennis Championships in both singles and doubles.

"I believe anything is possible if you set your mind to it!" Marianne proves that daily.


Being such a new sport, Adaptive Bobsled is not featured in the Paralympics yet. Cody explains:

"We are working hard to get other nations on board and get their programs up and running so we have someone to compete against. At this time the biggest hurdle we face is funding. We have a lot of athletes that really want to participate but dont have the means to commit to a full season. The cost of equipment, fees and track time can be near $5K a season per athlete... not to mention the cost of the sled $50-$60K, the cost of a set of runners $10K and travel for events."

"More funding and sponsors means we will be able to travel and help train and set up other countries. Once we have other countries on board we can start having international races. The IPC (International Paralympic Committee) says we need to have at least two World Cup competitions before the sport can be considered for Paralympic inclusion."

Don't miss the chance to come meet this inspiring men and women who don't let anything get in the way of their drive to compete. Friday at 7pm, and Saturday at 2pm right here at The Leonardo.

For more information on the U.S. Adaptive Bobsled Team, contact coach Jeremy Holm at teamholmracing@hotmail.com, or visit the team on Facebook.

Blog Post by Bryton Sampson

Posted by The Leonardo at 11/16/2011 12:18:00 PM 0 comments