The museum has made this possible in response to the COVID-19 pandemic since many of its visitors are foreign tourists. The whole tour is available on the museum’s website. The freely navigable 3D model is composed of 360° photographs with explanatory texts and recordings in Czech and English at various points of interest.
The virtual tour means that visitors can view the permanent exhibition area dedicated to Gregor Johann Mendel, visit Mendel’s refectory, the abbey’s library, as well as the apiary in the garden.
“We want to present one of the most important Czech scientists and attract those who cannot visit to come and see the museum in person, to feel the atmosphere and learn more about Mendel and his work,” said Blanka Křížová, the museum’s manager.
Following partial closure during the COVID-19 pandemic, the museum will reopen to the public on 2 June during normal visiting hours. “Many visitors, especially those from abroad, will not be able to reach us for some time yet, so we wanted to give them the opportunity to see where Mendel lived and worked at least in the virtual form,” she added.
English translation of Mendel’s manuscript
Alongside the new online tour, the Mendel Museum has also prepared a new English translation of the most important work by Mendel – Experiments on Plant Hybrids.
“The English translation of the work, including the commentary, has been available online at the website of the British Society for the History of Science since 2016. The print version is the result of the collaboration between the two institutions and was published by Munipress, the university’s publisher. This is the most comprehensive English translation to date. It is presented with the German original, including a copy of Mendel’s original manuscript, a foreword by Nobel Prize laureate Sir Paul Nurse and commentaries by renowned scientists,” added Křížová.