TO SHARE OBSERVATIONS OF SLIME MOULD & TO EXCHANGE SPORES....

After watching the TED talk.. http://www.ted.com/talks/heather_barnett_what_humans_can_learn_from_semi_intelligent_slime_1

Mum and I wanted our own Slime Mould so we went on a bushwalk (in Tauranga). We could not find any of the yellow Physarum Polycephalum but mum did find what looked like a lump of snotty gel on a decaying pine branch. We scraped it off and put it in a petri-dish and started an experiment.

I made a spread sheet to record all the actions I took in the experiment and took photos (to use later in time lapse photography)

In short - the mould initially seemed to grow towards the oats and then it stopped.

I concluded that the mould appeared to grow at the beginning because of the water spray we added to its environment. It is a bit like jello – if you add too much water it goes runny and does not keep its shape. It is also like the oats - when we took them from the packet they were firm and small, soaking them in water hydrated them so they increased in size and went soggy. The slime mould was a certain firmness when we found it but when we spritzed it it got soggier and runnier and so it collapsed, spreading out making it look like it was moving.

I also think that this is the wrong time of year for slime mould to be active. I might be wrong.

I have not given up on this experiment and hope someone at Naturewatchnz can direct us to or supply us with slime mould/slime mould spores. I will also do another hunt when all the frosts have gone.

Thanks for all your help. As you probably guessed I am not a grown-up but Mum is helping me with this as I am really interested. less ↑