Saturday, October 17, 2020
Have you ever eaten fungus? Have you ever eaten a mushroom? Well, mushrooms are a type of fungus, so if you have eaten a mushroom, you have eaten fungus! In this session we will be going on a virtual walk with plant scientist Sara Stricker to learn about different kinds of fungus like mushrooms, black spot, and more! We will then break into groups to do an activity that will allow us to see the spores associated with fungus.
Preparation: You will need mushrooms from the grocery store and white paper. Participants in the younger session will need one or more balloons, one or more sheets of tissue paper, water. Participants in the older session will need baking yeast, three bottles with narrow openings like a disposable water bottle (identical bottles if possible), 200 ml warm water, and one or more of the following: sugar, pancake syrup, or honey.
Expert: Sara Stricker is a plant scientist and PhD candidate at the Ontario Agricultural College at the University of Guelph. She studies plant pathology – diseases that harm plants – and how to defend against them.
