Exhibit: Muggles, Magic & Medicine

Map It:  Medical Center 

TELL THE TRUTH: When reading the seven "Harry Potter" books, didn't you want to believe his and his Hogwarts cohorts' magic was real? Even a little bit?

Well, it is and it isn't. Healing herbs can do just that, and alchemy existed long before "The Sorcerer's Stone" was released. Now, the National Library of Medicine at the National Institute of Health presents an exhibition that plunges into the myths and facts surrounding Potterian magic.

"Medicine and Magic in Harry Potter" features plants, characters and creatures based in history, with an emphasis on their contributions to ancient and modern medicine as well as magical lore.

The mandrake, for example, is a real plant — it was believed to be useful in rituals involving the human body, since its multi-rooted shape and the "scream" it made when pulled from the ground appeared to be human attributes. Nicholas Flamel did exist, and did search for ways to turn lead into gold — unsuccessfully, but the value of a great myth is that it endures. And don't get us started on unicorns and centaurs.

The seven horcruxes — sorry, antique treasures — are on display to the public weekdays only through Nov. 30 (the library is closed on Thursday), but the online version of the exhibit will remain up. Click here.

» National Institutes of Health, 8600 Rockville Pike, Bethesda; Mon.-Fri., 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m., through Nov. 30, free; 301-496-5405 (Bethesda)

Courtesy National Institutes of Health