Da Vinci - History

Art, history, and a simple biographical story bring the original Renaissance man to life. Kids will love the story that traces Leoardo's story as an art-loving child to a man with a fascinating life; his story may encourage kids to view their own learning and creative ideas in a new light. The visual style is engaging too: Leonardo's story comes to life like a graphic novel, and his works look even more vivid in this cartoon context. 

That being said, this is mostly a read-only experience with only limited interactivity. The quizzes are interesting, but even the most die-hard art history fan might question the learning value of some of the matching games. It's neat to have kids learn the names and faces of da Vinci's contemporaries, but there's little opportunity for deep engagement. Also, it's frustrating that there's much more description given to Leonardo's contemporaries than to the paintings and sketches. As it is, there's a lot more info here about Cesare Borgia than about the Mona Lisa or Vitruvian Man, which seems like a missed learning opportunity. More interactive or reflective features would make a big difference: Giving kids an opportunity to hone their own brand of da Vinci-like creativity through sharing their impressions would be a welcome addition. The app could be improved by adding a feature that allows kids to use their own creativity on the app to encourage multiple play sessions. Once the content is exhausted, there's not much to do here. Overall, this is a neat tool to introduce kids to Leonardo's life and his world, and it's best used in conjunction with art history expertise. That way, kids can go beyond what Leonardo did and who he knew and focus more explicitly on why he still matters.