The British army uses an exact copy of da Vinci's 40-foot, squarish fabric parachute, and his ideas are apparent in pulley, gear and chain systems used the world over.

"They're very simple, his ideas, like the chain, rejected for a time because it was so simple," Rizzo said.

The inventions range from double-hulled boat bodies to mobile stairs to spotlights to a clock that tells time according to how much a candle has burned.

He sketched designs for circular gears, ball-bearing mechanisms, cars, drills, cranes, saws and hoists, even an aqueduct system. His bicycle is a perfectly functioning model complete with wheels, pedals and gear chains.

"He was very clever," Katz said, "and he protected his designs by leaving out one or two essential pieces of information in each one so no one could copy it."

The British tried in vain for years to build his tank, which was both an offensive and defensive war machine. Until they discovered da Vinci's "trick" of moving the engines from the back to the front, they had little success.

Visitors to the exhibit can play with some of the models, pull on the pulley ropes, turn the worm screw and even build a little helicopter or parachute. But the curators stress that the models and paintings are ultimately put on display for adult consumption.

Teachers are encouraged to bring their students, and a teachers' guide is available.

In addition, there are 11 of da Vinci's most famous paintings on display, including copies of "The Last Supper," "The Mona Lisa" and da Vinci's signature sketch, "The Vitruvian Man," which, in da Vinci's opinion, exemplifies the perfect machine of man.

"This exhibition is for the adults, not just for the kids, to appreciate what da Vinci thought of 500 years ago," Katz said. "It's an everybody show."

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If you go ...

What: The da Vinci Experience
Where: UVSC Woodbury Gallery, second floor of the University Mall, Orem
When: Through October
Cost: $14 for adults; $6 children and students, military
Phone: 863-6200
Web: www.uvsc.edu/museum or www.davinciexperience.info

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E-mail: haddoc@desnews.com