The Genius of Leonardo, the world's largest interactive exhibition of Leonardo da Vinci's inventions, premieres this summer in the Middle East. Opening on 15 May in Amman, Jordan, the show will also be presented in Kuwait, Bahrain, UAE and Qatar.

Leonardo da Vinci was a man of "both" worlds. He was a master of both art and science. He was a painter, sculptor, architect, musician, engineer, inventor and scientist, and was truly the first "Renaissance" man.

Da Vinci was born in 1452 near the town of Vinci. He was a great artist. In his teenage years, he became an apprentice in one of the best studios in Italy. He stayed there until 1483, when he left for Milan where he was commissioned to build a statue, Madonna of the Rocks.

He was also a great engineer and inventor. There were many times when he was asked by the government to design state buildings or churches or to conceive new weapons. Not only was he a great inventor, he was one of the greatest scientists ever to have lived. Many scientific experiments were recorded in his sketches and his detailed drawings of skeletons, muscle structures, and organ systems set the pace to modern medicine.

Da Vinci died in 1519, but his work lives on and is commemorated in a unique exhibition soon to open in the Arab world.

The exhibition, which has been organised by Next Generation of Athens, contains 40 machines that were built after an in-depth study of Leonardo da Vinci's designs by a group of scientists and skilled craftsmen. Its uniqueness lies in the fact that the mechanisms are life sized and fully operational. Visitors may touch and set them in motion, combining fun with instruction.

"The exhibits take the spectator into the magical world of machines devised by da Vinci. This master engineer solved practical problems," explained organiser Dimitris Kazantzides.

"Long before our era, he also conceived the precursors of machinery that have been quite recently manufactured, such as the tank, machine gun and aircraft."