Leonardo da Vinci sketches will make their US debut for one month — before being sealed in total darkness for the next 3 years

• Leonardo da Vinci's sketches are making their US debut in Washington, DC, until August 20.
• The works will then be sealed away in total darkness for three years in order to preserve them.

Several of Leonardo da Vinci's sketches made their US debut this week in Washington, DC — and while they'll be in the nation's capital for the next month, afterwards, the works will be sealed in total darkness for three years, the Huffington Post reports.

The Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library is hosting the exhibit — titled "Imagining the Future - Leonardo da Vinci: In the Mind of an Italian Genius" — until August 20. After that, they will be put away in complete darkness, making this exhibit a rare opportunity to see the works.

"It's here for a precious short amount of time, and you'll probably never see them again," Richard Reyes-Gavilan, DC Public Library executive director, told the Huffington Post.

The exhibit itself is dim and the capacity is limited in order to preserve the artwork. Visitors will be able to see 12 sketches by the Italian genius, including plans for wings on his infamous flying machines and designs for hydraulic pumps.

The works on display come from the Codex Atlanticus, a collection of da Vinci's drawings and writings that many call one of the most valuable artifacts from the Renaissance, according to the Huffington Post.