Exhibition

Animals conquered the air more than 300 million years ago. The first “colonizers” were Insects, and this “invention” surely represents a valuable contribution to their huge, staggering specific differentiation.

About 200 million years ago, after Insects, the sky was colonized by flying Reptiles with membranous wings: from the first small forms, as time went by, they turned into giants with wing span more than 10 metres long. But roughly 70 millions years ago they began to decline, until they became extinct.

Birds have been dominating the sky over the last 100 million years: no other animal can fly faster, longer or at lower temperatures. All this has been possible mainly thanks to the development of their feathers.

To fly as a bird is one of the ancestral dreams of our species: human imagination makes men, gods and demons fly, and our desire to take to the air has also had a strong influence on art as well.

The exhibition is a free flight among the wide variety of issues related to moving in the air: conquering this element, with all the trials, the revolutionary triumphs, the heavy defeats, the external allies and the barriers that had to be overcome. A cross-section of the history of evolution portrays Man and many other living organisms as they strive to lift themselves off the ground.

A large number of interactive exhibits allow visitors to approach and get to know the laws and dynamics of flight.

Dioramas and reproductions illustrate the wide range of animal and plant species that have adopted surprising solutions to dive into the infinite, evanescent ethereal environment.

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	Exhibition Animals conquered the air more than 300 million years ago. The first “colonizers” were Insects, and this “invention” surely represents a valuable contribution to their huge, staggering specific differentiation. About 200 million years ago, after Insects, the sky was colonized by flying Reptiles with membranous wings: from the first small forms, as time went by, they turned into giants with wing span more than 10 metres long. But roughly 70 millions years ago they began to decline, until they became extinct. Birds have been dominating the sky over the last 100 million years: no other animal can fly faster, longer or at lower temperatures. All this has been possible mainly thanks to the development of their feathers. To fly as a bird is one of the ancestral dreams of our species: human imagination makes men, gods and demons fly, and our desire to take to the air has also had a strong influence on art as well. The exhibition is a free flight among the wide variety of issues related to moving in the air: conquering this element, with all the trials, the revolutionary triumphs, the heavy defeats, the external allies and the barriers that had to be overcome. A cross-section of the history of evolution portrays Man and many other living organisms as they strive to lift themselves off the ground. A large number of interactive exhibits allow visitors to approach and get to know the laws and dynamics of flight. Dioramas and reproductions illustrate the wide range of animal and plant species that have adopted surprising solutions to dive into the infinite, evanescent ethereal environment.