Leonardo: 500 Years Into the Future

San Jose's Tech Museum of Innovation boasts a singular honor: it's the only U.S. stop for the exhibit Leonardo: 500 Years Into the Future. It's an impressive collection of over 200 drawings, sculptures and life-sized models of the art, architectural projects, machines and mechanisms created by fifteenth century artist-engineers Filippo Brunelleschi, The Sienese Engineers, and Leonardo da Vinci.

The Renaissance engineers exhibit gets of to a rough start, with poor labeling leaving even this science-degree-holding viewer confused and frustrated. To avoid our fate, talk to the docents, watch the video and skip the written descriptions. Things get much easier to understand after that, with lots of working models to play with. Leonardo's work occupies the bulk of the extensive exhibit, which seems to barely skim the surface includes drawings of his prodigious imagination. In fact, that imagination may be the exhibit's single most fascinating aspect.

We expect interest and attendance to be highest during the year-end holidays and at the end of its run on January 4, but for now, weekday crowds are sparse.

Tickets are issued by starting time and you can get in line 15 minutes before your ticketed time. The last entry is 1.5 hours before closing time, but we suggest you allow at least 2.5 hours to see it all if you're moderately curious.

Buy advance tickets online. Hours are 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Monday - Wednesday and 9:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m. Thursday - Sunday. It will be open on Thanksgiving Day, but not on Christmas.