In the days before the Internet hit and interactive programming such as courses, kiosks and encyclopedias were delivered on CD-ROM or LaserDiscs hooked to computers, I was heavily involved for 10 years in the (now defunct) International Interactive Communications Society (IICS) -- a group of inventors, course developers, hardware and software people -- and was in a leadership role in the Minnesota chapter, where I was pleased to meet and get to know a local artist by the name of Lynn Fellman.

With an artist's eye and a geeklike fascination with science and technology, Lynn leapt into the IICS and applied her animation expertise and creative mind, along with her illustrating skills, in order to apply them to interactive media projects. In those early interactive days, most startups and developers didn't think much about user interfaces, visual appeal, or that great design could (and usually did) take their software creations up to a "gasp creating and eyes widening" level.

A few weeks back, Lynn pulled together an "IICS Alumni" lunch and brought together many local Minnesota folks who'd been involved in IICS. Arriving early, I toured her studio in downtown Minneapolis and she gave me an overview and update on one key direction her art and passion had taken in the last several years: taking DNA sequencing and illustrating it for people who've had theirs sequenced. I'm certain she could tell that I was deeply impressed and delighted with her art.

With projects like 23andMe, a DNA sequencing lab co-founded by none other than Google co-founder Sergey Brin's wife, Anne Wojcicki, having your life patterns analyzed can give you all sorts of data about your ancestry. It is a field that's accelerating because of the benefits being discovered when we have more knowledge about our own DNA and the foresight one can gain about risk factors for disease. With her curious mind and scientific interest, Lynn saw a need that she could fill; she is bringing this raw DNA data to life in her art and creating portraits for people around the world.

What's that got to do with Darwin and why should you care?

Recently Lynn sent me a notice about an event at the Bell Museum of Natural History on the U of M campus that she thought Minnov8 readers might be interested: a Darwin Day Birthday Party (which occurred on Feb. 12) that looked quite fun and was occurring in celebration of the 200th anniversary of Charles Darwin's birthday. As I read through the notice, I initially wondered what her motivation was in sending it to me. Then I saw near the bottom that this party coincided with the kickoff of Lynn's exhibit of her DNA Portraits at the museum.

After she sent me that email, I went to the Bell site and was stunned to see how the museum has exploded onto the scene with an obviously revitalized museum that goes far beyond my previous experiences -- which were along the lines of taking my son's Cub Scout troop there to see, as my son would say, "dead, stuffed animals." Instead, the Bell team appears to have turned the museum into a destination worthy of our attendance and that's great for our kids (though their $24M funding request, part of the U of M budget, was line-item vetoed by Gov. Tim Pawlenty, so we'll see what happens to expansion plans for this destination over time).

This Darwin birthday party was part of a worldwide celebration, and the Twin Cities' version included cake, drinks and presentations by U of M scientists and educators. They presented funny, outrageous and controversial rapid-fire, media-rich presentations about Darwin and evolution. From the big bang to the human genome, attendees heard about the newest research (and controversy) on evolution and Darwin.

Lynn's fascination with the expanding field of genographics — which uses genetic markers to trace the patterns of human migration from our common origin in Africa — has provided her with a unique opportunity to bring together her fascination with science and genetics, her ability to visualize data, along with her skill and artistry, and allowed her to turn that science in to an art form by combining maps, DNA sequence data, and colorful graphics to create stylized portraits as a way to visualize one's deep ancestry. Her exhibit at the Bell Museum features a sampling of her portraits, as well as a series of panels and banners that explain the science behind her art.

As it turned out, it's a good thing that Lynn reached out to the online community to promote this event since the Bell Museum was unable to use budget money to buy advertisements or send out direct mail; Lynn sent a notice to me and to Peter Fleck, an IICS alum and a very well connected web developer at the U -- and someone who is leveraging all key social media through his Twitter account, blog, so we could get the word out about the birthday party and her showing.

I published on Minnov8, "tweeted" about it on Twitter, and Peter — someone with many more relevant contacts than I (especially at the U) emailed, tweeted and blogged. As it turned out, the event was standing room only!

If you're looking for something to do with the family — or you're particularly interested in DNA, genealogy and unique and beautiful scientific art — check out the Bell Museum and make sure to stop down to see Lynn's exhibition. Besides being beautiful and fascinating, it's an excellent example of how one Minnesota artist has moved swiftly in to a realm, genetics and its visualization, in an innovative and very creative way.

"Life -- A Journey Through Time" and "Personal Genographic: DNA Portraits by Lynn Fellman." Through Apr. 12. Bell Museum. See information and related events here.