When you think of Leonardo Da Vinci, what probably comes to mind is an old bearded guy painting the Mona Lisa. But what you don't know is that Leo was also an engineer, inventor, artist, and a pretty cool guy.

During the Renaissance, lots of artists got more and more interested in painting things exactly how they saw them. They focused on every detail and every tiny piece. One of the techniques they used was called Linear Perspective. Leonardo tried this, and became an expert at it. Many of his paintings were inspired by the walks he took. As he walked, he would admire the detailed beauty of nature. He loved to notice the things that other people didn't notice.

You may have heard that Leonardo was a lefty, but did you know that he wrote "mirror style"? Everything he wrote was written that way. Picture captions, notes, ideas, everything! Why in the world would he want to do that? You might be surprised. 

He might have wanted to hide his ideas from people who might've stolen them. He might have simply  wanted to be original. He might have wanted to hide his ideas from the church, who was afraid of his ideas, therefore disliked him.

Leonardo was also an inventor. He wasn't afraid to think beyond the box. In fact, Leo designed and may have even built the first robot! The robot could sit up, talk, move its arms and legs, and even walk. 

Leonardo also invented other things. Researchers even found a sketch of his that looked almost exactly like a modern helicopter. He was almost five hundred years ahead of his time. He also designed a new kind of parachute, and a closeable bridge.

Leo was a peace lover and hated everything to do with war. But despite that, he worked as a military engineer for a time in his life. He invented a helmet, a new gun, and a faster tank. He hated it the whole time!!

Leonardo was an amazing man who lived an amazing life. All of his paintings and inventions have inspired us through the years. It's too bad that he can't still be living here with us today!