Outdoor Activities for Children

Mushroom Spore Prints

A mushroom is actually the fruit of a fungus. Its job is to produce spores, tiny seeds that will grow into a new fungus. The rest of the fungus is underground and looks like tiny white threads all tangled up. If you turn a mushroom cap over, you’ll often see rows of “gills” hanging down. This is where the spores are – millions of them, smaller than a speck of dust. Many mushroom spores are colored. If you want to see what color they are, try making a mushroom spore print.

You will need:

• A fresh mushroom with a flat cap and gills underneath. You can often find mushrooms growing in your yard after a rainy spell.
• Different colored construction paper
• A bowl big enough to cover the mushroom cap
• Hair spray

What to do:

• Cut off the stem of the mushroom where it joins the cap.
  Sometimes the stem will break off, but if it’s really tough, you may need to have an adult cut it off with a sharp knife.
• Choose a piece of construction paper. 
  • If the gills on the mushroom are dark, try using white, yellow or light blue paper
  • If the gills are white, try using black paper or a bright color like blue, red or green
• Place the mushroom, gill side down, on the construction paper and cover the cap with a bowl.
  Leave the cap overnight.
• The next day, carefully remove the bowl and lift the cap straight up off the paper.
  You should find a spore print left on the paper.
• Cover the spore print carefully with the bowl and let the print air dry for a few hours.
• If you want to save your print, you’ll have to spray it with hair spray.
  • Hold the can about a foot above the print and spray straight out so that the spray falls gently onto the print.
    If you spray the print directly, it might blow away.
  • Allow the hairspray to dry, then spray the print several more times.

 

Outdoor Activities
Children in Nature
Maryland Department of Natural Resources

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