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Doing Da Vinci

(Rated TV-PG, Educational, Starring Valek Sykes, Jurgen Heimann, Bill Duggan, Where to watch: Discovery Channel, DVD)

  • Is it age appropriate?

    About our ratings

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    Not age appropriate for kids under 7, age appropriate for kids over 10; suggested age 10.

  • Is it any good?

    4.0

  • Common Sense says

    Inventor's drawings come to life in engaging edu series.

Why We Rated This on for Ages 10 and Up

The good stuff

  • Messages:

    Team members work through their disagreements/philosophical differences in an amiable way. The show promotes taking an active interest in science and experimentation. The team is entirely male.
 

What to watch out for

  • Violence:

    The designs that the team is working on are based on Da Vinci's drawings of war machines. No one is hurt, but human-shaped targets used during tests, and team members don't hide from the fact that these machines were designed to kill people.

  • Sex:

    One of Da Vinci's most famous drawings -- a nude man inside a circle -- is repeatedly shown, including the groin area. It's not exploitative, graphic, or sexual, but it's there.

  • Language:

    A machine is referred to as "kick ass," but that's about the extent of the salty language.

  • Consumerism:

    Not an issue.

  • Drinking, drugs, & smoking:

    Not an issue.
 

What Parents Need to Know

About Doing Da Vinci

Parents need to know that this educational series about creating machines designed (but never built) by famed artist/inventor Leonardo Da Vinci doesn't shy away from mentioning the machines' original purpose: war and killing. But the emphasis is much more on whether or not each machine could have worked than on demonstrating its potentially bloody impact. There are also several shots of one of Da Vinci's most famous drawings -- a nude man in a circle -- but it's not at all sexual.

Did this review help you decide?

Families Can Talk About

  • Families can talk about what messages the show sends about war and war making. Have attitudes toward those topics changed since Da Vinci's time? If so, how? Do you think the show's goal is to make viewers think seriously about the differences between what was acceptable in the past and isn't now -- or is it just an entertaining way to look at science and experimentation?
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