Wicor Primary School children’s animated movie takes centre stage at Buckingham Palace's Leonardo da Vinci exhibition
AN ANIMATED movie created by primary school children has taken pride of place at the Queen’s home of Buckingham Palace.
To commemorate the 500th anniversary of the death of Leonardo da Vinci, Year 6 pupils from Wicor Primary School used plasticine model animation to create a seven-minute movie about his life. The children devised their own models and story sequence and took part in the meticulous process of creating the animation.
Year 6 teacher Alison Nash said: ‘It’s a phenomenal effort. Whether making the set and models, positioning characters or taking photographs which make up the animation – all the children did something.’
The movie tells the story of da Vinci’s life, from his fascination with the mechanics of flying, inspired by a passing dragonfly, his invention of the first anemometer to his creation of the iconic paintings, The Mona Lisa and The Last Supper.
‘It’s a timeline of da Vinci’s life as an artist, engineer and scientist. In total, the project took six weeks to complete and involved the children using elements of IT, history, writing and design technology,’ added Mrs Nash.
The animation was first showcased at Southampton City Art Gallery as part of its A Life in Drawing Exhibition. Organisers were so impressed with the children’s work that they contacted Buckingham Palace to see if the video could be used at the Queen’s own exhibition - the largest private collection of da Vinci’s work in the world.
‘The art gallery said it was so good they wanted to use it at the palace. The animation is now playing in the learning room at the start of the exhibition and there has been a huge reaction from visitors,’ said Mrs Nash.
The children worked under artist and animator Rob Luckins.
Headteacher Mark Wildman said: ‘We’re always looking for innovative ways to teach our curriculum. When we decided to focus on the life of Leonardo da Vinci the idea of using film to present the children's learning seemed a natural one. Film gave the children an opportunity to learn a range of new skills and to work with a professional film maker. The quality of the final outcome was outstanding.’