LEONARDO da VINCI Renaissance Then – Renaissance Now?
SCHOOL SEMINARS & WORKSHOPS with Peter Donaldson
Humanities, Language Arts, Science and Art Courses
High School, Middle School, and Upper Elementary

Available January 8 – February 9
us or call the box office 360-786-0151 for more info on setting up a workshop in your classroom.

1. Leonardo in the Classroom!
When Leonardo visits your classroom students are delighted to find out how their own capacity for genius is not so different from the maestro himself. In character and full costume, Peter Donaldson brings the inquisitive spirit of Leonardo vividly to life, leading a lively and interactive dialogue on the great themes of learning. What is art? What is science? What habits of mind unite the two? How can we discipline our own thinking to achieve what we want to achieve? Time: One hour visits, up to four classrooms per day, or multiple classrooms attending mini-assemblies in the school library. Students need to come prepared with pencil, journal and curiosity.

2. Thinking like Leonardo
In this fascinating hands-on workshop Peter Donaldson will guide participants in  exploring the mind and methods of Leonardo da Vinci as well as their own. Participants will draw from observation, study reproductions of Leonardo’s notebooks, analyze translations of his writings, and examine their own genius. Participants need to bring drawing pencils and an unlined sketchbook or journal. Time: One hour, a two hour block period, or over multiple days…

3. Advanced Seminar; Evidence of a New Renaissance
Peter Donaldson leads a lively seminar comparing what we know about the Italian Renaissance with the patterns impacting life today. What conditions catalyzed the Renaissance 500 years ago?  Are there parallels to our own time? Are we moderns at the cusp of a New Renaissance? To explore these and other inquiries, students are provided a list of “20 Questions for a New Renaissance” one week in advance of the seminar. The questions serve as a guide for the seminar. There are no right answers. The only test is the depth and breadth of our collective vision for humanity’s future and our own particular genius in contributing to it. Students need to be prepared with great questions and their own preliminary thoughts on “20 Questions for a New Renaissance.” Time: One hour, a two hour block period, or over multiple days…

4. School Matinee Performances of the Full Show!
Harlequin Productions is producing The Life and Times of Leonardo da Vinci as part of its mainstage season January 18 – February 10.
 
Call the box office 360-786-0151 to book your classes for one of two special school matinees: January 25 and, February 2 at 12 noon at the State Theater, with a question and answer session after the show. Or you can us.

5. Teacher Workshop; Renaissance Then - Renaissance Now?
Saturday February 3, 9:00-4:00
$35.00
Course Fee, Clock hours available
Plus 2 for 1 tickets to see The Life and Times of Leonardo da Vinci
This workshop is a playful mix of direct experience, direct instruction and curriculum conversation ideally suited for both pre-service and in-service educators in humanities, science and the arts. Our journey is organized around the question; “Renaissance Then – Renaissance Now?” Dozens of fascinating parallels exist between the circumstances that set in motion the Italian Renaissance of 500 years ago and the patterns at play today. Outcomes for teachers include deeper content knowledge, a personalized, integrated curriculum map appropriate to grade level, facilitation skills to help students build a good story around key concepts, and techniques for imbedding assessment tasks within the learning process.

Learn more at these links!
Interview with Peter Donaldson
Learn more about Leonardo
New Renaissance Forum
20 Questions for the New Renaissance
Sightline Institute Statement, Subscribe!
City of Olympia Statement by Joe Hyer
School Workshops
College Seminars
Peter’s Book List
Peter Donaldson Bio
Buy Tickets