Apple Mummies & The Fungus Among Us!

October is the month for spooky science! We tried to see which substance (salt or baking soda or a combination of both!) would create the perfect mummy.  We discussed how ancient Egyptians would use natron to remove moisture from and preserve the bodies that we now find deep within the pyramids.  When creating our mummified apples, we had the option to wrap our apples in gauze to create a true mummy effect. We have been patiently waiting and making detailed observations for over three weeks to see how our apples have changed.

Recently, we discussed the importance of micro-organisms and more specifically the function of the fungus among us! We learned how mold is grown, which foods can still be safely consumed if mold is present and removed  (think harder/denser foods like cheese) and found out that certain molds can actually be helpful like the one that helped to create penicillin.  We conducted a mold growth experiment using pieces of bread. By rubbing the bread on different surfaces (mold spores are microscopic and can be found everywhere), we are testing to find out which surface has the most germs and may therefore produce the most mold!

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