Gregor Mendel: Planting the Seeds of Genetics August 18, 2007

The life and work of 19th-century friar Gregor Mendel, a former high school teacher whose experiments were ignored by the scientific community for decades, is featured in 'Gregor Mendel: Planting the Seeds of Genetics' opening this spring at the National Museum of Health and Medicine. Regarded as the father of modern genetics, Mendel's only remaining original manuscripts, photographs and scientific instruments are among the artifacts on display. Hands-on interactive displays include one that allows visitors to conduct Mendel's famous pea experiment.