Young da Vincis get inventive in Arts Council class

By: Casha Caponegro
   Wielding a hot-glue gun, 9-year-old Matt Hatman carefully bonded his sticks in a triangle pattern to form the sides of his bridge.
   "I’m trying to get my bridge done," said Matt. "I had both sides done before, but they were uneven so I have to do them over."
   Matt was one of nine budding architects who were working diligently on their projects after school Monday as part of the "Leonardo da Vinci Workshop," sponsored by the Cranbury Arts Council.
   The course, which concludes Monday, discusses the works of the great Renaissance artist and inventor Leonardo da Vinci and allows children to create their own inventions.
   Tuition was $85, plus an additional $15 for materials.
   Industrial arts teacher Thomas Stinson, who has taught at the Cranbury School for 14 years, provided the students with information about Leonardo da Vinci by organizing a group of Web sites that discussed his life and works.
   "I gave them a brief overview of da Vinci," said Mr. Stinson. "The kids then used different Lego system sets to copy some of the machines he invented and then make machines of their own creation."
   In addition to his work as a famous artist, da Vinci was fascinated with the design and construction of bridges, which is why students were creating bridges of their own out of wood and other materials.
   "I showed them some information about bridge design," said Mr. Stinson. "First they designed their bridges on paper and then constructed them out of sticks and glue."
   Katie Carreno, 10, was busy cutting equal-length sticks with an Exacto knife for her project.
   "Then I’m going to glue them together to make the sides of my bridge," said Katie.
   Some children had already finished their bridges and were ready to move onto their next project, constructing a catapult.
   Andrew Paterson, 12, brought his bridge home last week to complete and paint a brilliant red.
   "It took me two classes to have one-and-a-half sides done," said Andrew, who based his design on suspension bridges. "Then I took it home and it took me an hour to finish the other side and paint it."
   Since his bridge was finished, Andrew moved on to the next project, constructing a catapult out of wood to launch Ping-Pong balls.
   "Leonardo da Vinci was big into designing war machines," said Mr. Stinson. "In constructing their catapults, the kids are following da Vinci’s basic overall plan, but they can change anything they like. They’re free in their flexibility."
   In addition to helping students with any problems they may have with their projects, Mr. Stinson also supervises them while they use potentially dangerous equipment.
   "Most of the older kids have used the equipment before, but I keep my eyes peeled," said Mr. Stinson. "The younger kids haven’t learned yet how to use the larger power machines or hand tools."
   Mr. Stinson said that safety is always the first consideration whenever the children use the equipment for their projects.
   Nick Liu, 12, for example donned safety goggles while operating the large band saw to cut pieces of wood.
   "I learned how to use a lot of this stuff in class," said Nick, who had already completed his bridge and was starting to construct his catapult.
   In addition to the hands-on portion of the course, many students said they enjoyed learning about Leonardo da Vinci and the accomplishments he made during his lifetime.
   "He’s actually done more stuff than most people think," said Andrew.
   "He was an artist and inventor that lived in Italy and came up with the basic ideas for a lot of the machines we have today," said Jessica Charwin, 11, as she carefully glued the components of her bridge together.