PUEBLO — A historic museum is coming to one town in Southern Colorado. Pueblo will be the official home of the Leonardo Da Vinci Museum.
“A lot of people say, why Pueblo and our argument was like, well, why not,” says Craig Eliot Cisney. “The location is unbelievable.”
Craig Eliot Cisney is the Vice President of Southern Colorado Science Center, which helped bring the Da Vinci Museum to Pueblo.
“There's nothing like it in the state, and there never has been. So this is going to be the first of its kind,” Eliot said.
The project started with an idea 3 years ago to create a science museum for children in Pueblo.
Eliot says “The main thing about the museum is we want to help children. We want to give kids the idea that they may have never heard of this guy, and they may not even be able to pronounce his name, but seeing his genius might help spark their own creativity to do something they never could have ever imagined."
His team began working with the Artisans of Florence.
“The artisans of Florence have taken the drawings and the writings of Leonardo da Vinci and they have brought to life the machines and creations that he put on paper,” Eliot said.
Leonardo da Vinci's creations will be on display at the new museum.
Eliot says “The creations of Leonardo da Vinci that for most cases, were just always on paper that he took from his mind and put on paper. But now they can actually see on paper his design and then look up and be able to see it in real life is absolutely unbelievable."
According to Eliot, there are a few other Da Vinci museums around the world but none in North America, until now.
“This will be the first and only permanent museum for at least 10 years that is going to be honoring Leonardo da Vinci,” says Eliot.
The museum will be right in downtown Pueblo.
“What can people expect when they come to the museum? Probably, for most people, something they've never seen before.”
The museum will be located inside the former Pro Bull Riders Sports Performance Center along Pueblo’s Riverwalk.
Eliot says “People will come to see this, and they're going to expect to see just Leonardo da Vinci, but we're going to have displays from Galileo and Archimedes and some of the greatest minds. These exhibits will always be rotating in so if you come, say, in one month, and then you wait a few months and come back, you're going to see something different. It's always going to be something that's going to ignite the imagination of children who are young, and then you know the child in all of us who are older."
He said they are planning to start a capital fund for the museum. To learn more visit their website.
___
Pueblo School District 60 addressing enrollment decline with community meetings
Along with many districts in Colorado, Pueblo School District 60 has seen a decline in enrollment, resulting in underutilized buildings.
____
Watch KOAA News5 on your time, anytime with our free streaming app available for your Roku, FireTV, AppleTV and Android TV. Just search KOAA News5, download and start watching.
