From the Renaissance to the STEM Fair: Why Art Still Belongs in Science

“Leonardo da Vinci had no formal education. Yet, he became one of the greatest engineers, anatomists, and inventors of his time—not because he studied science, but because he observed the world through drawing.”

This past July was our local STEM Fair, and I spent a lot of time reflecting on how much that statement still matters. We often talk about STEM—Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math—as if those disciplines stand apart. But the truth is, some of the most brilliant minds in history didn’t separate them at all. They used art to explore science. They blueprinted and built machines to understand motion. They drew anatomy to understand the human body.

One of the greatest examples of this was Leonardo da Vinci. Best known as a painter, Leonardo was also a relentless observer of nature, a self-taught engineer, and a student of the human body. And he used drawing—not textbooks or lectures—as his primary tool for learning and invention.

Leonardo da Vinci: The Original STEAM Thinker

Long before we started using acronyms like STEM or STEAM (adding Art to the mix), Leonardo was living it. He believed that to understand how something worked, you had to observe it closely—and draw it. His notebooks were filled with sketches of muscles, bones, water movement, flight mechanics, and fantastical machines designed for exploration and even warfare.

What’s remarkable is that he accomplished this without a formal education. Leonardo didn’t attend a university or earn a degree. Instead, he taught himself through careful observation, hands-on experimentation, and thousands of drawings. He didn’t separate art from science. For him, they were two sides of the same coin.

Art as a Pathway to Science

Leonardo’s approach reminds us that drawing is more than just making something look nice. Drawing can be a way of thinking—of noticing details, testing ideas, and asking “what if?”

As a medical illustrator, I see this every day. In my work, I use visual storytelling to explain complex ideas about the human body, diseases, treatments, and surgical procedures. When we draw what we see, we learn more deeply. And when we show those drawings to others, we help them learn, too.

Medical illustration is a direct descendant of Leonardo’s legacy. It’s a blend of careful observation, artistic skill, and scientific accuracy. And it’s a powerful tool for improving health literacy—helping people understand how their bodies work and what’s happening when something goes wrong.

What Drawing Teaches Us About Science — A STEM Fair Recap

We had a great time at this year’s STEM Fair! My booth invited kids to explore how drawing helps us understand science—from blood flow to shape recognition. Inspired by Leonardo da Vinci, we focused on hands-on activities that showed how observation and creativity fuel scientific thinking.

Activity 1: Color & The Human Heart

What we did: Kids received a coloring sheet of the human heart and learned how red and blue are used in medical illustration to represent oxygenated vs. deoxygenated blood.

What they learned:

• Arteries carry oxygenated blood (red)
• Veins carry deoxygenated blood (blue)
• Color is more than decoration—it tells a story in science

Activity 2: Observational Drawing

What we did: Each participant got one minute to sketch a real-life object and share one thing they noticed.

What they learned:

• Drawing improves observation
• Noticing detail leads to deeper understanding
• Mistakes are part of learning—what matters is looking

Activity 3: See a Shape, Draw a Shape

What we did: Using basic blocks, kids built an object, then practiced breaking it down into simple shapes before drawing it.

What they learned:

• Complex things are made of simple parts
• Artists and scientists use building blocks to solve big problems
• Visual problem-solving = creative confidence

From Leonardo to Today’s Students

When we give kids the chance to observe, draw, build, and imagine, we give them access to the same tools that helped Leonardo da Vinci understand the world. We’re not just teaching them facts. We’re teaching them how to think.

And that’s why they belonged at the STEM Fair.

Want to bring this to your school or library?

I love sharing these activities and designing custom illustration-based workshops for kids, teens, and educators.