Late night adults opening at the Science Museum

This month the Science Museum’s Lates will celebrate the life and work of Leonardo Da Vinci. Hear a mini-opera about Da Vinci’s inspiration performed by London vocal ensemble Voxcetera, learn about the man himself through a rare glimpse into his extraordinary Notebooks and explore Leonardo’s incredible legacy through a variety of talks and interactive workshops.

You’ll get the chance to test your engineering skills by recreating one of Leonardo’s designs in LEGO, embrace your Renaissance alter ego in a mask-making workshop and visit our very own agony aunt, the Moany Lisa. Plus all the regular highlights including live music, the fantastic Punk Science comedy show and the best silent disco in town.

Highlights

Leonardo Dreams Of His Flying Machine

Exciting London vocal ensemble Voxcetera perform the fantastic piece Leonardo Dreams Of His Flying Machine by choral composer and classical superstar Eric Whitacre, a 9 minute 'mini opera' about Da Vinci's inspiration as he dreams of taking to the air.

Deaf Men Dancing: Let Us Tell You A Story
Explore Deaf history and experiences with multi-sensory dance from Deaf Men Dancing, known for their unique fusion of dance with sign language. Artistic Director Mark Smith was inspired to create Let Us Tell You A Story... by exploring museum collections - from exquisite ear trumpets to conspicuously large hearing aid boxes - revealing extraordinary untold stories.

This show incorporates sign language and will be audio described.

Part of the Exceptional & Extraordinary Project, Unruly bodies and minds in the medical museum

Francesca Martinez: Wobbly Manifesto
Without diversity, there would be no evolution, life or human beings. So why are we still so scared of difference? Using medical museum collections, comedian Francesca Martinez explores how humanity has chosen to handle (or not) disability. By proposing her Wobbly Manifesto, she invites us to consider how embracing diversity as normal could revolutionise the world.

This show will be captioned with speech to text, BSL interpreted and audio described.

Part of the Exceptional & Extraordinary Project, Unruly bodies and minds in the medical museum

Leonardo da Vinci: In His Own Words

Ruth Rosen, one of Britain's leading performers of the spoken word, brings Leonardo to life through his extraordinary Notebooks. Using only his own writings and observations, Rosen gives us an inspiring and rare glimpse into one of the greatest geniuses the world has ever produced.

Tweeting Da Vinci, The Theatre

Ann Pizzorusso, geologist and Da Vinci scholar will introduce the “other” Leonardo: military architect, engineer, meteorologist and geologist. She’ll also show his revolutionary “tweets”. Could they have changed the world if he’d been able to post them?

Wingsuiting – Pioneering the dream of human flight
Da Vinci’s dream of human flight is now a reality with wingsuits. Come and meet Imperial College London’s very own wingsuiting scientist and his internationally known skydiving and BASE jumping friends. See their flights, hear their stories…and try on their wingsuits!

Our Age of Discovery: Renaissance Wisdom for Today

If Leonardo were reborn today, amidst all the turmoil that marks our present age, would he flounder, or flourish again? Join Professor Ian Goldin and Dr Chris Kutarna as they resurrect the biggest lessons from Da Vinci’s day to help genius thrive once more.

Exceptional and Extraordinary Post Show Discussion
Since humans first appeared on Earth no two have ever been the same. Yet somewhere along the way, certain bodies and minds came to be highly valued whilst others became viewed as problematic; as deviant and unruly, deficient and requiring adjustment towards a perceived idealised norm. Join us for a discussion of issues raised in the Exceptional and Extraordinary performances. @UnrulyBodies.
This session will be captioned with speech to text and will be BSL interpreted.

Part of the Exceptional & Extraordinary Project, Unruly bodies and minds in the medical museum

Drawing on Da Vinci

Leonardo created the earliest scientific drawings of the human body by combining artistic talent with anatomy. Join us in discovering more about his drawings, our anatomy and the human form. Why not have a go at your own anatomical art with our live models?