Cover with an upside-down box, and set it aside somewhere where it won’t be disturbed. Step 4: Add a few drops of water to the top of the mushroom cap to encourage the spores to drop. (We used regular printer paper, but I think slightly thicker paper would have been better. Step 3: Place the top section of the mushroom gill-side down on a piece of paper. Bumble Bee thought it was delicious! (Somehow food always tastes better when you’re playing with it, don’t you think?) If it’s a store-bought mushroom, see if your kids will snack on the off-cuts. This should also ensure that the stem is flush with the underside. Step 2: Cut off the lower portion of the mushroom, exposing the gills. Note: if you’re going to pick a wild mushroom, don’t eat it unless you know its not poisonous! And please wash your hands carefully afterwards. Step 1: Buy a mushroom that has its gills mostly protected (or if its gills are exposed, try to choose one that’s as fresh as possible). We decided to use a large field mushroom (also called portobella or open cap mushroom) since we’d bought one from the store earlier that day. You can actually make a spore print with any mushroom, and apparently different mushrooms have different coloured spores and create different patterns, which is so awesome. Older kids might also like to try scraping off some spores and studying them under a microscope afterwards. Try this as a nature science activity for preschoolers or kindergarteners. My 4.5 year old daughter Bumble Bee thought this was the coolest thing ever!
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