200 years of Gregor Mendel – diverse birthday program from April to September 2022

March 30, 2022

Wednesday, April 20 to Sunday, September 18, 2022

On the occasion of the 200th anniversary of Gregor Mendel’s birth, the Munich-Nymphenburg Botanic Garden, together with partners from science and education, is organizing the thematic focus “It’s the mixture that counts – hybrids in nature and culture”.

In cooperation with BIOTOPIA – Bavarian Museum of Natural History, the Museum Mensch und Natur and the Museum Educational Center (MPZ), the Botanic Garden Munich-Nymphenburg offers all visitors a colorful and diverse program around Gregor Mendel, who laid the foundation for a new branch of biology with his crossing experiments on peas: genetics.

Mendel’s crossing attempts

Gregor Mendel’s intellectual achievement consisted, on the one hand, in asking himself whether the process of heredity follows certain laws. On the other hand, Mendel did not rely on mere observations, but approached this question experimentally. At the time, he received little attention for his statistical evaluations. 200 years later, this has changed: Gregor Mendel is now considered the “father of genetics,” and the “Mendelian rules” he formulated form a basis for understanding hereditary traits. On the occasion of his 200th birthday, the Botanic Garden and its cooperation partners dedicate a diverse program to him and inform about his research and the topic of hybridization.

Program starting on April 20, 2022

Information panels in the open air of the Botanical Garden deal with the life of the Augustinian monk and introduce the topic of hybridization in the plant world. In specially designed beds, hybrids and selections are shown next to their wild relatives. The program in the garden is accompanied by guided tours, a scientific lecture series in the lecture hall of the Botanical Institute, as well as events and hands-on activities in the BIOTOPIA Lab and the Museum Mensch und Natur.

Mendel’s birthday will be celebrated in the Botanical Garden on July 23 and 24. The colorful and informative program on the action weekend will offer entertainment for all ages.